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COPXRIGlfr DEPOSm 



Armenian Massacres 

OR 

The Sword of Mohammed 

CONTAINING 

A COMPLETE AND THRILLING ACCOUNT OF THE TERRIBLE 

ATROCITIES AND WHOLESALE MURDERS COMMITTED 

IN ARMENIA BY MOHAMMEDAN FANATICS 

INCLUDING 

A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE TURKISH PEOPLE, THEIR HISTORY, 

GOVERNMENT, MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND 

STRANGE RELIGIOUS BELIEF 

BY FREDERICK DAVIS GREENE, M.A. 

Secretary of the Nati. iial Relief Committee and Vale Missionary to Armenia. 
TO WHICH IS ADDHD 

THE MOHAMMEDAN REIGN OF 
TERROR IN ARMENIA 

i 
J EDITED BY 

j Henry Davenport Northrop, D.D. 

/ 'The well-kuowu author. 



Embellished with nearly lOO Engravings showing the 
Characteristics of the People, ,IS^a4Sactes, etc, etc* 



^<^^^:^Li^^^H^ 



APR 6 lfi%/ Q-L^^^'^ 



NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. 
241 Levant Street. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1896, by 

J. R. JONES, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 

All Rights Reserved. 






[Letter from the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, to the author 






'Lfi9. f 




'/O^^/^fc^ 



Dear Sir : 

I am glad to hear that your work is about to be published. 
I believe it will materially assist in arousing public atten- 
tion to the recent outrages in Armenia which almost pass 
description and have inflicted indelible disgrace on the Sultan 
of Turkey and on his officers and soldiers concerned in perpe- 
trating, in denying and in shielding them. 
I remain, dear sir, 

Your very faithful and obedient 
To Rev. F. D. Green. W. E. GIvADSTone. 

[The above is a copy of Mr. Gladstone's autograph letter.] 

iii 



TO THE MEMORY 

OF THE 

CHRISTIANS MASSACRED IN ARMENIA 

BY THE 

SWORD OF MOHAMMED 

THIS WORK 

IS DEDICATED 

B\ 
THE PUBLISHERS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

THIS is an important book. It deals with a 
burning question, and in a way which will 
command public attention and public confix 
dence. 

The author is thoroughly equipped for his task. 
Birth, residence, and travel in Turkey have made 
him personally acquainted with the situation which 
he discusses, and the independence of his position 
enables him to write without restraint and without 
prejudice. After nearly four years of service as a 
missionary of the American Board in Van, the centre 
of Armenia, during which no criticism of his course 
was ever made either by the Board or by the Turk- 
ish Government, he was recently ordered by his 
physician to return to America. Having resigned 
his connection with the American Board, he writes 
as the representative of no society, religious or po- 
litical, and is connected with none. In issuing this 
book he is simply discharging what to him is a 
personal and unavoidable obligation ; and as he 
frankly avows its authorship, it will be impossible 
for the Turkish Government to hold any one else 
responsible for it. 

The author shows that the case of the subject 
races in the Ottoman Empire is desperate, that there 
is no hope of reform from within, and that relief 



vi Introduction, 

must therefore come through the interference of the 
powers of Europe. Their action depends largely on 
the support of the public. ''Public opinion^' there- 
fore, *' must be brought to bear upon this casej' as Mr. 
Gladstone said in the House of Commons six years 
ago. Since then there has been added a new chap- 
ter of horrors, and the demand for decisive action in 
the name of our common humanity has become 
more urgent. The facts furnished by this book 
ought to arouse such public opinion as will justify 
and compel prompt and efficient action on the part 
of the Powers. 

The United States need not depart from its long- 
established foreign policy, but is bound to protect 
its own honor and the lives and property of its 
citizens. 

JosiAH Strong. 




CIvARA BARTON 




FRANCES E. WILLARD. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

A CHAPTER OF HORRORS 1 

CHAPTER II. 

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT EASTERN TUR- 
KEY 43 

CHAPTER III. 

THE CHRONIC CONDITION OF ARMENIA AND 

KURDISTAN 54 

CHAPTER IV. 

OTTOMAN PROMISES AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 70 

CHAPTER V. 

THE OUTCOME OF THE TREATY OF BERLIN . . 76 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE SULTAN AND THE SUBLIME PORTE .... 87 

CHAPTER VII. 

PREVIOUS ACTS OF THE TURKISH TRAGEDY . . 95 

CHAPTER VIII. 

ISLAM AS A FACTOR OF THE PROBLEM • • • • • HO 

vii 



viii Contents, 

CHAPTER IX. 

PAGE 

GLADSTONE ON THE ARMENIAN MASSACRE AND 

ON TURKISH MISRULE 121 

CHAPTER X. 

WHO ARE THE ARMENIANS ? 131 

CHAPTER XI. 

AMERICANS IN TURKEY, THEIR WORK AND IN- 
FLUENCE 147 

CHAPTER XII. 

ARMENIAN VILLAGE LIFE 157 

APPENDIX A. 

A BIT OF AMERICAN DIPLOMACY 169 

APPENDIX B. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITED STATES CONSU- 
LATES IN EASTERN TURKEY 175 

APPENDIX C. 

DR. CYRUS HAMLIN'S EXPLANATION 179 

APPENDIX D. 

THE CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS ........ 181 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE APPALLING CONDITION OF ARMENIA ... 185 

CHAPTER XIV. 

MR. GLADSTONE ON ARMENIA 243 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE CRY FROM ARMENIA 256 



Contents, ix 

CHAPTER XVI. 

PAGE 

THE SHAME OF CHRISTENDOM 285 

CHAPTER XVII. 

AN APPEAL FOR ARMENIA 309 

CHAPTER XVHL 

THE MASSACRE AT URFA 340 

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE LAST THE WORST 345 

CHAPTER XX. 

RUSSIA AND TURKEY 351 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE TYRANT TURK AND THE CRAVEN STATES- 
MEN 356 

CHAPTER XXII. 

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 358 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE BLOT ON THE CENTURY . 365 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE ARMENIANS— WHO ARE THEY? 371 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE TURKISH QUESTION IN GERMANY 380 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
TURKISH OPPRESSION 386 



X Contents, 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

PAGE 

MISSIONARY WORK IN TURKEY 396 

CHAPTER XXVIIL 

TURKEY AND THE TURKS 405 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT 413 

CHAPTER XXX. 

RELIEF FOR SUFFERING ARMENIA 418 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

CAUSE AND EXTENT OF THE RECENT ATROCI- 
TIES 431 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

TO THE RESCUE 440 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

WHAT ONE MAY SEE IN ARMENIA 449 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE TURKS AND THEIR RELIGION 458 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

HISTORY OF TURKEY AND THE MOHAMMEDAN 

POWER .475 



PREFACE. 



HE would be a rash man who should claim to 
have mastered the Eastern Question— a ques- 
tion which it is not easy even to define, and 
of which the future of Turkey is only a part. To 
throw light on some phases of the latter problem is 
the writer's object— and this by way qf information 
rather than argument. What he has learned of the 
subject has been by residence, travel, absorption, 
and investigation in the land itself, and by reading. 
The very short time allowed in the preparation of 
this humble contribution to the subject has necessi- 
tated a hasty and partial treatment at the expense 
of literary form. Some of the material and most of 
the illustrations are reproduced from articles by the 
author in the American Review of Reviezus, by the 
kind permission of the editor, Dr. Albert Shaw. 
No pains have been spared to insure accuracy. 
References to authorities have been given as far as 
possible, but in regard to much information from 
most reliable sources names must be withheld. 

This book, with all its harrowing details and records 
of murders and pillage, was prepared to prove the 
awful character of the first great massacre of Arme- 
nians which had taken place in Sassoun some months 



xll Preface 

before, but of which no authenticated evidence had 
up till that time been made public. It was believed 
that, if the people of Great Britain could be con- 
vinced of the condition of Armenia, for which they 
were largely responsible, such a public opinion would 
be aroused as would at once lead to vigorous and 
determined action by that government. It was 
stated in the Preface: "If such action is not taken, 
the effect of this book, as of all agitation in behalf 
of the victims of Turkey, will be to draw the fetters 
deeper." The expectation that England would do 
her duty has proved to be groundless, but the Turk 
has lived up to his reputation. Irritated by Eng- 
land's threats, but emboldened by her cowardly and 
vacillating course, the Sultan, while pretending to 
reform Armenia, inaugurated there a reign of terror, 
of which Sassoun was a mere local incident. 

The Sword of Mohammed is used as a sub-title, 
because there is still a crisis in the history of that 
important race ; and there will soon be one in 
Europe if selfishness, jealousy, and duphcity con- 
tinue to stifle all considerations of humanity, national 
honor, and — I blush to add it — of Christianity. 

In order to protect " British interests," for two- 
score years, not to say longer, has ''Christian" 
England stood guard at the Sublime Porte, warn- 
ing all intruders away. With her hand on the door 
of the Turk's disorderly house, she has compla- 
cently informed the world that she in particular 
— as well as the other Powers — has secured prom- 
ises, and even guaranties, that all would go well. 
But all the while, Her Majesty's Ministers, of what- 



Preface xiii 

ever party, have heard the bitter and despairing 
cry of the poor wretches within, and have done 
their best to stifle it by carefully suppressing, in 
their archives, the consular reports which have 
kept them officially informed of the real situation.' 
And all the while, England's share of the profits of 
this partnership with " her friend and ally," has been 
steadily dropping into her overflowing coffers. Was 
Cyprus nothing? Is Egypt nothing? Is the inter- 
est on Turkish bonds, extracted in blood-drops by a 
pressure that England helps to maintain, nothing? 
England's Christian statesmen who so jealously pro- 
tect ''British interests," even to the extent of con- 
niving, for " reasons of state," at the outrage and 
murder of Armenia — whose chief guardianship they 
insisted on assuming, — would do w*ell to remember 
that there is a kingdom of God, which has its in- 
terests, and which for state reasons of its own has 
swept away mighty empires that defied its laws. 

As for France, whose cant at least is not religious, 
she tattoos her fair figure with " Liberie, Egalite, 
Fraternite"' wherever there is space to write the 
words, but she evidently confines her motto to her- 
self. It is reported that, at the close of the Berlin 

^ " I am at a loss to know why the reports of consuls ceased to be 
furnished in or about the year i88i. Why are not consular reports 
to be made, and being made, why are they not to be panted ? If in 
this respect I am personally, or anyone associated with me is, open 
to censure, let the facts be brought out ; but do not let a particular 
act at a particular time be confounded with the adoption of the prin- 
ciple of eternal silence about the horrors that prevail in Armenia." — 
Speech by the Rt. Hon, W. E. Gladstone, in House of Commons, 
May 28, 1889. 



XIV Preface 

Congress in 1878, Prince Bismarck expressed the 
sentiments of official Germany, by saying that he 
" would not give one Pomeranian grenadier for the 
Balkan Peninsula." If so, she would probably sac- 
rifice even less now for Armenia, though she would 
object, of course, to a division of Turkey without 
receiving some compensation herself. Austria would 
gladly extend her protectorate over Macedonia, 
which would also dispose of that bone of contention 
between Bulgaria and Greece. Poor Italy finds it 
hard to swallow what she has already bitten off in 
Abyssinia, and would be glad of something better. 

Holy Russia feels so sure of the Armenian apple, 
which is bound to fall into her lap when it is ripe, 
that she does n't even care to shake the branch, lest 
it might alarm her rivals. She is mistress of the 
situation, and time is in her favor. 

As for Turkey, she has long seen the sword of 
Damocles over her head, and will bow to the stroke 
of Fate whenever it falls. She hates and distrusts 
all the Powers, but, as a last resort, will probably 
yield to Russia, the nearest and the strongest, in 
hope of escaping the rest. Nobody expects or is 
really trying to secure reforms in Turkey, though 
promises of reform will still be demanded of the 
Sultan, and will always be ready on demand. 

What is the real underlying difficulty in Turkey ? 
Is it a conflict of race, or religion ? Primarily it is 
neither, though both of these elements seriously 
complicate the case at present, hi one wordy it is 
inisgo'v eminent. Do not be deceived by this rather 
mild word, and dismiss the subject with the reflec- 




TURKISH LADY OF RANK 





ARMENIAN BREAD-SEIvLER. 



Preface xv 

tion that " there is misgovernment everywhere." 
Misgovernment, as it exists in Turkey, is a system 
breeding corruption and death. It is a disease, 
hereditary, chronic, penetrating the whole body 
politic and fastened on its very vitals. No creed is 
exempt ; every race is attacked by it. 

I have seen the crushing and — what is worse — 
demoralizing conditions from which all the races in 
Turkey suffer under Moslem misrule. I know how 
rapidly these fine races would advance along every 
line, were these conditions changed. I know the 
grand possibilities of the Armenians as a people, 
physically, intellectually, and morally. The only 
wonder is that a people of so great ability, energy, 
and spirit have so long submitted. But when one 
sees, as I have been compelled to, during years of 
residence both in Constantinople and the interior, 
how the fetters have been forged on every limb, and 
how the movement of a finger even brings down 
immediate and terrible vengeance, the wonder arises 
why these wretches are so foolhardy as to undertake 
revolution. The fact is they are not engaged in any 
such enterprise. Individual agitators there are, but 
even their object is only to force the civilized world 
to give attention to the despairing cry of their race, 
which even God does not seem, to them, to hear. 

If the Armenians are to be left as they are, it is a 
pity that Europe ever mentioned them in the Treaty 
of Berlin or subsequently ; and to intrust reforms in 
their behalf to those who have devoted three months* 
time to killing and robbing them is simply to aban- 
don the Armenians to destruction and to put the 



xvi Preface 

seal of Europe to the bloody work. The only way 
to reform Turkey, as history has so often shown, is 
by forcible foreign intervention — not the threat of 
it, but the intervention itself. 

The position and power of Russia give her a 
unique call to the work. Should she enter on it at 
once the whole civilized world would approve her 
course. Russia should have as free a hand in Ar- 
menia as England has insisted on having in Egypt. 
By frankly admitting this, England would gain in the 
respect and sympathy of the world and strengthen 
her own position. 

During a conversation with Mr. Gladstone in his 
home at Easter, 1895, I asked him if he shared the 
horror expressed by some, of opening the Eastern 
Question. Quick as a flash he replied, " The only 
way to close it is to open it." If in this fair, honest, 
and determined spirit the statesmen of Europe 
should come together, it would not take long to dis- 
pose of the so-called "Sick Man." The fact is he is 
already dead, and the only way to dispose of him is by 
burying him out of sight. He is too far decomposed 
to hold together and must, therefore, be buried piece- 
meal. No " joint action " will succeed. Each of the 
European undertakers should dispose of a part, be 
paid proportionately out of the estate, and adminis- 
ter t!ie remainder as permanent guardians in the 
interests of the " Sick Man's " various children, thus 
happily orphaned. 

I preach no crusade ; none is needed. But it is 
high time for the conscience of the civilized world 
to assert itself — not simply the *' non-Conformist 



Preface xvii 

conscience," but the Established, the Orthodox, the 
CathoHc, the Agnostic, and the Infidel conscience, 
in fact the human conscience — against this crime 
upon humanity. If this conscience is once aroused, 
I care not what parties are in power, or how the 
game stands on the diplomatic chessboard, the rule 
of the Turk will be ended, and one more blot will be 
wiped out from the annals of the world. 

The policy of the United States Government in 
this world crisis has been one of impotence as far as 
the cause of humanity is concerned, contemptible 
from the standpoint of national honor, and suicidal 
as regards American interests. 

While not lifting so much as a finger to shield tens 
of thousands of helpless women and children from 
murder and outrage, President Cleveland, by his 
gallant thundering about a few miles of swamps in 
Venezuela, at once threw into hopeless confusion the 
calculations of European statesmen in regard to the 
Armenians, and removed . 11 pressure in their be- 
half. Meanwhile, thirteen respected and law-abiding 
United States citizens were actually bombarded by 
the Sultan's troops, and had their houses plundered 
and burned. Though four months have passed, no 
indemnity has been secured, and it is not probable 
that any official will be punished for this insult to 
America. 

Emboldened by such timid and tardy action by 
this country, the Porte has now assumed the aggres- 
sive and audaciously accuses the American resi- 
dents of sedition and murder. The object of this 



xvill Preface 

charge is simply to secure their expulsion from the 
country. 

In this policy of getting rid of the Americans, the 
Turks are ably seconded by the Russian Ambassa- 
dor and by the American Minister at Constantinople, 
though from different motives. Turkey seeks the 
expulsion of the Americans because she knows that, 
as spiritual and educational leaders, they are a mighty 
influence in the development of her Christian sub- 
jects whom she wishes to retain as helpless serfs. 
Russia expects soon to inherit the land and would 
like to have it cleared of what she considers religious 
weeds and political brambles. The United States 
Minister professes to be haunted by the future 
ghosts of American citizens, whom, for the very pur- 
pose of terrifying him, the Turks threaten to murder. 
These citizens, both men and women, have bravely 
and cheerfully stood at their posts while the storm 
of death has raged around them ; and now that it is 
passed, it is ridiculous to suppose that Turkey can- 
not continue to protect them. Just as soon, how- 
ever, as the Sultan is convinced that it would h^ safe 
to have them massacred under the cloak of *' a 
fanatical mob " that event is likely to occur. 

The jeopardy to American life and interests arises 
from the undignified and half-hearted way in which 
they are being " defended." A reversal of this policy 
would safeguard not simply the persons and property 
of American citizens, but, what is more, our national 
honor. It would, at the same time, indirectly, 
greatly advance the cause of humanity and civiliza- 
tion in that unfortunate land. 



CHAPTER I. 
A CHAPTER OF HORRORS. 

CERTIFIED EVIDENCE OF THE MASSACRE IN 

SASSOUN. 

WE, the undersigned, by examination and com- 
parison, have satisfied ourselves that the 
following statements are verbatim reports, 
written under the dates which they bear, by American 
citizens who have spent from six to thirty years in 
Eastern Turkey. We have examined also the fact 
that they are written from six different cities from 
one hundred to two hundred miles apart, but form- 
ing a circle about the centre in which the massacres 
occurred. For the personal safety of tne writers the 
names of the places cannot now be made public. 
They are independent reports from a country where 
refugees and returned soldiers of the Sultan speak of 
what they know. We have the utmost confidence 
in these statements and regard them worthy the 
belief of all men. 

In the name of a suffering humanity we urge the 
careful perusal of these statements, and recommend 
that all readers take measures to make the indig- 
nation of an outraged Christian world effectually 
felt. We deprecate revolution among these helpless 
Turkish subjects, but bespeak cordial co-operation 
in bringing to bear upon Turkey the force of the 
righteous condemnation of our seventy millions of 
people. 



FREDERIC T. GREENHALGE 
Governor of Massachusetts. 

FRANCES E. WILLARD 

President National W. C. T. U. 

WM. LLOYD GARRISON Jr. 

SAMUEL J. BARROWS 

Editor Christian Register. 

GEO. C. LORIMER 

Pastor Tremont Temple, Boston. 

WILLIAM E. BARTON 

Pastor Shawmut Church, Boston. 

H. M. JEWETT 

Ex-U. S. Consul, Sivas, Turkey.^ 

MARY A. LIYERMORE 

Author and Lecturer. 
ALPHEUS H. HARDY 

FRANCIS E. CLARK 

Pres. United Society Christian Endeavor. 

Brother and predecessor of the present Consul Jewett, at Sivas. 
3 



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O^^^^ tPTf^^^f^"^ 



EDWARD EVERETT HALE 

Pastor New South Congregational Church, Boston. 

JULIA WARD HOWE 

Author and Lecturer. 

FRANCIS A. WALKER 

Pres. Mass. Instit. of Technology. 

A. E. PILLSBURY 

Ex- Attorney-General of Massachusetts. 

ISABEL SOMERSET 
Lady Henry Somerset. 

CYRUS HAMLIN 

Founder of Robert College. 

L J. LANSING 

Pastor Park Street Church, Boston. 

JOSEPH COOK 

Author and Lecturer. 

WM. E. RUSSELL 

Ex-Governor of Massachusetts. 

JONATHAN A. LANE 

Pres. Boston Merchants' Association. 
5 



EXPLANATORY NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. 



THESE letters are written by men who can have 
no possible motive for misrepresenting the 
facts in the case, while, on the other hand, 
each writer subjected himself to personal danger by- 
putting such statements upon paper and sending 
them through the mails. Several of the documents 
have gotten through Turkey by circuitous routes, in 
some instances having been sent by special messenger 
to Persia, and so on to this country. Others were 
never risked in the Turkish mails, but have come 
through the British post-office at Constantinople. 

It must be borne in mind that no writer was an 
eye-witness of the actual massacre ; nor could he 
have been, inasmuch as the whole region was sur^ 
rounded by a military cordon during the massacre 
and for months after. The letters are largely based 
on the testimony of refugees from that region, or of 
Kurds and soldiers who participated in the butchery, 
and who had no hesitation in speaking about the 
affair in public or private until long after, when the 
prospect of a European investigation sealed their 
lips. Much of the evidence is, therefore, essentially 
first hand, having been obtained from eye-witnesses, 

6 



A Chapter of Horrors. 7 

by parties in the vicinity at the time, who are im- 
partial, thoroughly experienced in sifting Oriental 
testimony, familiar with the Turkish and Armenian 
languages, and of the highest veracity. No one letter 
would have much force if taken alone, for it might 
be a large report of a small matter ; but these eleven 
letters are written independently of one another, at 
different times, and from seven different cities widely 
apart, five of them forming a circle around the scene 
of destruction. The evidence is cumulative and 
overwhelming. 

There is absolute unanimity to this extent : that 
a gigantic and indescribably horrible massacre of 
Armenian men, women, and children did actually 
take place in the Sassoun and neighboring regions 
about Sept. l, 1894, and that, too, at the hands of 
Kurdish troops armed by the Sultan ^f Turkey, as 
well as of regular soldiers sent under orders from the 
same source. What those orders were will probably 
never transpire. That they were executed under the 
personal direction of high Turkish military officers is 
clear. There can also be no doubt — for the official 
notice from the palace was printed in the Constan- 
tinople papers in November last — that Zekki Pasha, 
Commander of the Fourth Army Corps, who led the 
regular troops in the work of extermination, has 
since been specially honored by a decoration from 
the Sultan, who was also pleased to send silk banners 
to the four leading Kurdish chiefs, by a special mes- 
senger. 

The latest, most accurate, and comprehensive doc- 
ument in this correspondence is No. 6. 



8 The Crisis in Ttt^^key. 

Vice-Consul Shipley, representing Great Britain in 
the inquiry held at Moosh from January 24 to July 
21, 1895, substantiates the evidence published in this 
chapter a year ago : 

'* We [Messrs. Vilbert, Shipley, and Prjevalsky, the 
representatives of France, England, and Rtcssia~\ have, 
in our report, given it as our conviction, arrived at 
from the evidence brought before us, that the Ar- 
menians were massacred withotit distiyiction of age or 
sex ; and, indeed, for a period of some three weeks, 
viz., from the 12th of Aug. to the /j.th of Sept. 
{O.S.), it is not too much to say that the Armenians 
were absolutely hunted like wild beasts, being killed 
wherever they were met, and if the slaugJiter was not 
greater, it was, I believe,, solely owing to the vastncss 
of the mountain ranges of that district, zvhich enabled 
the people to scatter and so facilitated their escape. 
In fact, and speaking zvith a full sense of responsi- 
bility, I am compelled to say that the convictio?i has 
forced itself upon me, that it was not so much the 
capture of the agitator Mourad, or the suppression of 
a pseudo revolt, zvhich was desired by the Turkish 
authorities, as the extermination, pure and simple, of 
the Ghelieguzan and Talori districts.'' ^ 

British Vice-Consul Hampson, who made a tour of 
the whole region in August, 1895, adds : 

*' That large numbers perished seems certain, the 
whole region being absolutely szcrrounded by Kurds and 
soldiers under the Mutessarif of Guendj, and Major 
Sali Effendi, now in command. Nobody a7id nothing 
belonging to the Armenians was purposely spared.''^ 

^ Blue Book, Turkey, 1895, No. i, Part I., p. 206. ^ Ibid., p. 200. 



THE EVIDENCE. 



No. I. 

[The reader should take notice that this first letter 
was written over four months before the massacre 
actually occurred.] 

D . . ., April 3, 1894. 
It does seem in this region as if the government 
were bent on reducing all those who survive the 
process to a grovelling poverty, when they can think 
of nothing more than getting their daily bread. 
There is good reason for thinking that unless so- 
called Christian nations extend a helping hand, they 
[the Armenians] will become wellnigh extinct. Of 
course I do not sympathize in any way with the ex- 
tremists in other lands who are stirring things up 
here. . Nor do I agree with those papers that decry 
this movement as very foolish because there is no 
hope for success. If I rightly interpret the move- 
ment in this region, the thought is not revolution at 
all, but a desperate effort to call the attention of 
Europe to the wrongs they are suffering and will 
ever continue to suffer under this government. They 
feel that they will never succeed in attracting that 

9 



lo The Crisis in Turkey, 

attention unless they show that they are desperate 
enough to sacrifice their lives. And there is no com^ 
puting the lives that are goings not in open massacre as 
in Bulgaria — the government knows better than that.— 
hut in secret^ silent, secluded ways. The sooner it is 
known, the better. There never will be peaceful, 
prosperous conditions here until others take hold 
with a strong hand. 



VICTIMS OF TURKISH TAXATION ABANDONING THEIR 
VILLAGE HOMES. 

No. 2. 
[This is the first report of the massacre.] 

D . . ., Sept. 26, 1894. 

Troops have been massed in the region of the 

large plain near us. Sickness broke out among them, 

which took off two or three victims every few days. 

It was a good excuse for establishing the quarantine 



A Chapter of Horrors, 1 1 

around, with its income from bribes, charges, and 
the inevitable rise in the price of the already dear 
grain. I suspect that one reason for placing quaran- 
tine was to hinder the information as to what all 
those troops were about in that region. There 
seems little doubt that there has been repeated in 
the region back of Moosh what took place in 1876 
in Bulgaria. The sickening details are beginning to 
come in. As in that case, it has been the innocent 
who have been the greatest sufferers. Forty-eight 
villages are said to have been wholly blotted out. 



No. 3. 



[Efforts to conceal the truth as soon as Vice-Con- 
sul Hallward arrived on the scene, and to ward off 
investigation.] 

D . . ., Oct. 3, 1894. 
As the time goes on the extent of the slaughter 
seems to be confirmed as greater than was first sup- 
posed. Six thousand is a low figure — it is probably 
nearer ten. Mr. Hallward, the new [English] Consul 
at Van, has gone directly there, and it is said that 
the other consuls from Erzroom have also been sent 
to investigate. The government tried to get the 
people here to sign an address to the Sovereign, ex- 
pressing satisfaction with his rule, disclaiming sym- 
pathy with the Armenians who have " stirred matters 
up," stating that the thousands slain in Talvoreeg 
met their just deserts, and that the four outsiders 
captured should be summarily punished, expressing 



12 The Crisis in Turkey, 

regret that it has been thought best to send consuls 
to investigate, and stating that there was no need for 
their coming. From this document we at least get 
some facts that before were suppositions. It con- 
sisted of about two thousand words, and it was ex- 
pected that it would be sent by telegraph with at 
least a thousand signatures. The Armenians here 
have not yet signed it, though in four districts simi- 
lar papers have been secured properly sealed. TJie 
effect of such papers on foreigners ivill be much modi- 
fied ivJien they know tJie means used to procure them. 
Sword, famine, pestilence, all at once — pity this 
poor country ! 



No. 4. 

[The following is from a different source.] 

A . . ., Oct. 31, 1894. 

We have word from Bitlis that the destruction of 
life in Sassoun, south of Moosh, was even greater 
than was supposed. The brief note which has 
reached us says : '' Twenty-seven villages annihi- 
lated in Sassoun. Six thousand men, women, and 
children massacred by troops and Kourds. This 
awful story is just beginning to be known here, 
though the massacre took place early in September. 
The Turks have used infinite pains to prevent news 
leaking out, even going to the length of sending 
back from Trebizond many hundreds from the Moosh 
region who had come this way on business." This 
massacre was ordered from Constantinople in the 
sense that some Kourds having robbed Armenian 




TURKISH MUSICIANS 




•"v^i^ 



■■^v - 



■'24^ . 







A Chapter of Horrors. 13 

villages of flocks, the Armenians pursued and tried 
to recover their property, and a fight ensued in 
which a dozen Kourds were killed. The slain were 
"■ semi-official robbers," i. e., enrolled as troops and 
armed as such, but not under control. The authori- 
ties then telegraphed to Constantinople that Arme- 
nians had '' killed some of the Sultan's troops." The 
Sultan at once ordered infantry and cavalry to put 
down the Armenian rebellion, and they did it ; only, 
not finding any rebellion, they cleared the country 
so that none should occur in the future. 



No. 5. 

[This fron» a third place.] 

B . . ., Nov. 16, 1894. 

Last year the Talvoreeg Armenians successfully 
resisted the attacks of the neighboring Kourds. The 
country became very unsettled. This year the gov- 
ernment interfered and sent detachments of regular 
soldiers to put down the Armenians. These were 
assisted by the Kourdish Hamediehs [organized 
troops]. The Armenians were attacked in their 
mountain fastnesses and were finally reduced by the 
failure of supplies, both of food and ammunition. 
About a score of villages were wiped out of existence 
— people slaughtered and houses burned. 

A number of able-bodied young Armenians were 
captured, bound, covered with brushwood and 
burned alive. A number of Armenians, variously 
estimated, but less than a hundred, surrendered 



14 The Crisis in Turkey, 

themselves and pled for mercy. Many of them were 
shot down on the spot and the remainder were dis- 
patched with sword and bayonet. 

A lot of women, variously estimated from 60 to 
160 in number, were shut up in a church, and the 
soldiers were *' let loose " among them. Many of 
them were outraged to death and the remainder dis- 
patched with sword and bayonet. A lot of young 
women were collected as spoils of war. Two stories 
are told. I. That they were carried off to the harems 
of their Moslem captors. 2. That they were offered 
Islam and the harems of their Moslem captors, — re- 
fusing, they were slaughtered. Children were placed 
in a row, one behind another, and a bullet fired down 
the line, apparently to see how many could be dis- 
patched with one bullet. Infants and small children 
were piled one on the other and their heads struck 
off. Houses were surrounded by soldiers, set on fire, 
and the inmates forced back into the flames at the 
point of the bayonet as they tried to escape. 

But this is enough of the carnage of death. Esti- 
mates vary from 3000 to 8000 for the number of 
persons massacred. These are sober estimates. Wild 
estimates place the number as high as 20,000 to 
25,000. 

This all took place during the latter part of August 
and [early part of] September. The arrival of the 
commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army Corps put a 
stop to the carnage. It is to be noted that the 
massacres were perpetrated by regular soldiers, for 
the most part under command of officers of high 
rank. This gives this affair a most serious aspect. 



A Chapter of Horrors, 1 5 

A Christian does not enjoy the respect accorded 
to street dogs. If this massacre passes without notice 
it will simply become the declaration of the doom of 
the Christians. There will be no security for the life, 
property, or honor of a Christian. A week ago last 
Tuesday evening at sundown a Turk kidnapped the 
wife of a wealthy Armenian merchant of the town 
of Khanoos Pert. Next morning her cries were over- 
heard by searchers and she was rescued from a 
Turkish house. No redress is possible. 

Wild rumors have been abroad for a long time, but 
trustworthy information came to hand slowly. Every- 
thing has been done to hush it all up. Some of the 
minor details of the stories I have told above may not 
be exact, but I feel quite certain they are in the main. 
However, that a cruelly barbarous and extensive 
massacre of Christians by regular soldiers assisted by 
Kourdish Hamedicks, under command of officers of 
rank and responsibility, has occurred cannot be 
denied. 

What now will the Christian world do? 



No. 6. 

[This is the most complete account, compiled on 
the ground. The following document was carefully 
prepared in common by parties, the signature of 
any one of whom would be of sufficient guaranty 
to give great weight. One of the party, who is 
largely responsible for the data given, is a man of 
high position and wide influence. The material was 
collected with the greatest difficulty and under the 



1 6 The Crisis i7t Ttcrkey. 

constant espionage of Turkish officials. Armenian 
Christians who were known to appear at the place 
where the writer was staying, were arrested and some 
are yet in prison if they have not met a worse fate 
already. The documents were sent by secret, special 
carriers into Persia and came by Persian post to the 
United States. They left Turkey about the last of 
November, 1894. This document alone is sufficient 
to stir the indignation of a Christian world.] 

C . . ., Nov., 1894. 

There is uneasiness in Bitlis as to the safety of that 
city. Scrutiny of the mails by the Turkish authori- 
ties continues, and some letters addressed to resi- 
dents and officials in the United States are failing 
to arrive. 

The Hamedie'Ji soldiers, who are Kourds, and who 
have been enrolled during the past three years, are 
uniformed to some extent, but left in their homes. 
They are committing all kinds of depredations. The 
government continues to exact taxes in the plun- 
dered districts, sends zabtichs, or Turkish soldiers, 
to abide in the villages, and eat the people out of 
provisions until in some v/ay they manage to secure 
the money. In the Bashkalla region many of the 
men find, on returning, that the government has 
taken possession of their property and refuses to 
restore it or allow them to remain in their old homes. 

The authorities have taken and are taking every 
precaution to prevent accounts of the famous mas- 
sacre of Moosh from reaching the outside world. 
The English consul, Mr. Hallward, went on a tour in 



A Chapter of Horrors. 1 7 

the region affected. He was subjected to constant 
annoying espionage, and was absolutely unable to 
penetrate into the devastated region. 

To what extent Armenian agitation has provoked 
the terrible massacre it is difficult to determine. For 
a year or more there seems to have been an Arme- 
nian from Constantinople staying in the region as an 
agitator. For a long time he skilfully evaded his 
pursuers, but was at last caught and taken to Bitlis. 
He demanded to be taken to Constantinople and to 
the Sultan, and, it is said, he is now living at the 
capital, receiving a large salary from the govern- 
ment. Evidently he has turned state's evidence. 

FACTS REGARDING A MASSACRE AT SASSOUN, NEAR 
MOOSH, TURKEY. 

Late in May, 1893, an outside agitator named 
Damatian was captured near Moosh. The gov- 
ernment had suspected that the Talvoreeg vil- 
lages were harboring such agitators, and had 
sent orders to certain Kourdish chiefs to attack the 
district, assuming the responsibility for all they 
should kill, and promisirig the Kourds all the spoil. 

Not long after Damatian had been brought to 
Bitlis, the first week in June, the Bakranlee Kourds 
began to gather below Talvoreeg. As the villagers 
saw the Kourds gathering day by day, to the num- 
ber of several thousands, they suspected their de- 
signs, and began to make preparations. On the 
eighth day the battle was joined. The stronger 
position of the villagers enabled them to do con- 
siderable execution with little loss to themselves. 



1 8 The Crisis in Turkey. 

The issue of the contest at sunset was some one 
hundred Kourds slain, and but six of the villagers, 
one of whom was a woman who was trying to rescue 
a mule from the Kourds. The villagers had suc- 
ceeded in breaking down a bridge across the deep 
gorge of a river before a detachment of Kourds from 
another direction could join in the attack against 
them. The Kourds thus felt themselves worsted, 
and could not be induced to make another attack 
that summer. 

At this juncture the Governor-general set out 
with troops and two field-pieces for Moosh, and in- 
fested the region near Talvoreeg, but either he con- 
sidered his forces insufficient, or he had orders to 
keep quiet, for he made no attack, but merely had 
the troops keep siege. Before leaving, he succeeded, 
by giving hostages, in having an interview with some 
of the chief men in Talvoreeg, and asked them why 
they did not submit to the government, and pay 
taxes. They replied that they were not disloyal to 
the government, but that they could not pay taxes 
twice, to the Kourds and to the government. If 
the government would protect them, they v/ould 
pay to it. Nothing came of the parley, and the 
siege was continued till snow fell. During the win- 
ter, while blackmail was rife in the vilayet, several 
rich men of Talvoreeg were invited to visit the 
Governor-General, but did not see best to accept. 

In the early spring the Kourds of several tribes 
were ordered to attack the villages of Sassoun, while 
troops were sent on from Moosh and Bitlis, the latter 
taking along ammunition and stores, and ten mule- 





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19 



20 The Crisis in Turkey. 

loads of kerosene (eighty cans). The whole district 
was pretty well besieged by Kourds and troops. 
The villages thus besieged would occasionally make 
sorties to secure food. 

The Kourds on one occasion stole several oxen, 
and their owners tracked their property to the 
Kourdish tents, and found that one ox had been 
butchered. They asked for the others, and were 
refused, whereupon the villagers left, and later re- 
turned with some companions. A scrimmage ensued, 
in which two or three were killed on either side. 
The Kourds at once took their dead to the govern- 
ment at Moosh, and reported that the region was 
filled with Armenian and foreign soldiers. The 
government at once sent in all directions for sol- 
diers, gathering in all from eight to ten taboors 
(regiments). Kourds congregated to the number of 
about twenty thousand, while some five hundred 
HamedieJi horsemen were brought to Moosh. 

METHODS OF PROCEDURE AND INCIDENTS OF THE 
MASSACRE. 

At first the Kourds were set on, and the troops 
kept out of sight. The viUagers, put to the 
fight, and thinking they had only the Kourds to 
do with, repulsed them on several occasions. The 
Kourds were unwilling to do more unless the troops 
assisted. Some of the troops assumed Kourdish 
dress, and helped them in the fight with more suc- 
cess. Small companies of troops entered several 
villages, saying they had come to protect them as 
loyal subjects, and were quartered among the houses. 




SCENE IN STAMBOUL — "THE TURKS ARE UPON US.' 




STREET vSCENE IN STAMBOUL 



A Chapter of Horrors. 2 1 

In the night they arose and slew the sleeping vil- 
lagers, man, woman, and child. 

By this time those in other villages were beginning 
to feel that extermination was the object of the 
government, and desperately determined to sell 
their lives as dearly as possible. And then began a 
campaign of butchery that lasted some twenty-three 
days, or, roughly, from the middle of August to the 
middle of September. The Ferik Pasha [Marshal 
Zekki Pasha], who came post-haste from Erzingan, 
read the Sultan's firman for extermination, and 
then, hanging the document on his breast, exhorted 
the soldiers not to be found wanting in their duty. 
Ojt the last day of August, tJie anniversary of tJie 
Sultan s accession, the soldiers were especially -urged to 
distinguish themselves, and they made it the day of the 
greatest slaughter. Another marked day occurred a 
few days earlier, being marked by the occurrence ot 
a wonderful meteor. 

No distinctions were made between persons or 
villages, as to whether they were loyal and had paid 
their taxes or not. The orders were to make a clean 
sweep. A priest and some leading men from one 
village went out to meet an officer, taking in their 
hands their tax receipts, declaring their loyalty, and 
begging for mercy; but the village was surrounded, 
and all human beings put to the bayonet. A large 
and strong man, the chief of one village, was cap- 
tured by the Kourds, who tied him, threw him on 
the ground, and, squatting around him, stabbed him 
to pieces. 

At Galogozan many young men were tied hand 



y 



22 The Crisis in Turkey, 

and foot, laid in a row, covered with brushwood and 
burned ahve. Others were seized and hacked to 
death piecemeal. At another village a priest and 
several leading men were captured, and promised 
release if they would tell where others had fled, but, 
after telling, all but the priest were killed. A chain 
w^as put around the priest's neck, and pulled from 
opposite sides till he was several times choked and 
revived, after which several bayonets were planted 
upright, and he raised in the air and let fall upon them. 

The men of one village, when fleeing, took the 
women and children, some five hundred in number, 
and placed them in a sort of grotto in a ravine. 
After several days the soldiers found them, and 
butchered those who had not died of hunger. 

Sixty young women and girls were selected from 
one village and placed in a church, when the soldiers 
were ordered to do with them as they liked, after 
which they were butchered. 

In another village fifty choice women were set 
aside and urged to change their faith and become 
hamims in Turkish harems, but they indignantly 
refused to deny Christ, preferring the fate of their 
fathers and husbands. People were crowded into 
houses which were then set on fire. In one instance 
a little boy ran out of the flames, but was caught on 
a bayonet and thrown back. 

Children were frequently held up by the hair and 
cut in two, or had their jaws torn apart. Women 
with child were ripped open ; older children were 
pulled apart by their legs. A handsome, newly 
wedded couple fled to a hilltop ; soldiers followed. 



A Chapter of Hon^ors, 2 3 

and told them they were pretty and would be spared 
if they would accept Islam, but the thought of the 
horrible death they knew would follow did not pre- 
vent them from confessing Christ. 

The last stand took place on Mount Andoke 
[south of Moosh], where some thousand persons had 
sought refuge. The Kourds were sent in relays to 
attack them, but for ten or fifteen days were unable 
to get at them. The soldiers also directed the fire 
of their mountain guns on them, doing some execu- 
tion. Finally, after the besieged had been without 
food for several days, and their ammunition was ex- 
hausted, the troops succeeded in reaching the sum- 
mit without any loss, and let scarcely a man escape. 

Now all turned their attention to those who had 
been driven into the Talvoreeg district. Three or 
{our thousand of the besieged were left in this small 
plain. When- they saw themselves thickly sur- 
rounded on all sides by Turks and Kourds, they 
raised their hands to heaven with an agonizing moan 
for deliverance. They were thinned out by rifle 
shots, and the remainder were slaughtered with 
bayonets and swords, till a veritable river of blood 
flowed from the heaps of the slain. 

And so ended the massacre, for the timely arrival 
of the Mushire [Commander-in-chief of the Fourth 
Army Corps at Erzingan] saved a few prisoners 
alive, and prevented the extermination of four more 
villages that were on the list to be destroyed, among 
which was the Protestant village of Havodorick. 
This was the formidable army the government had 
massed so many troops and Kourds to vanquish. 



24 The Crisis iii Turkey, 

For God's sake do not let the public conscience ^o 
to sleep again over this reign of terror. The land is 
almost paralyzed with horror and terror ! 



No. 7. 



[The crisis and the need of keeping the issue clear. 
The real explanation of the massacre.] 

A . . ., Jan. 7, 1895. 

The importance of the present crisis grows upon 
me. In the first place Turkey is preparing for a ter- 
rible catastrophe by squeezing Armenians, and arm- 
ing Moslem civilians in Sivas, Aleppo, Castamouni, 
and other provinces ; and in the second place it is 
putting on the screws tighter everywhere excepting 
in the three eastern provinces where the Commission 
is now commencing investigation. In Van and Bit- 
lis the process of arresting and intimidating witnesses 
went on until the very hour of the departure of the 
Commission of Investigation. Then the order went 
out to stop, and those provinces are enjoying the 
first semblance of quiet that they have known for 
five years. 

This policy of continued massacre and outrage is 
favored by the profound ignorance which prevails 
everywhere as to the actual state of things in Turkey. 
People think that the Sassoun massacre is something 
exceptional, and that until that is proved there is no 
evidence of a need of European interference in behalf 
of Christians in Turkey. What ought to be done is 
to fix on the mind of the public the fact that Turkey 



A Chapter of Horrors. 



25 



has taken up the poHcy of crushing the Christians all 
over the Empire, and has been at it for several years, 
so that even if the massacre had not taken place, the 
duty of Europe to prohibit Turkey from acting the 
part of Anti-Christ was still self-evident. 




NAREG ■, ANCIENT CHURCH AND MODERN HOVELS. 

No. 8. 

B . . ., Jan. 12, 1895. 
The people are in a state of horror because of the 
massacre. The Commission has been expected for 
some time, and without doubt the local authorities 
have used every means to cover up their tracks and 
terrorize still further those who may be probable 



26 The Crisis in Turkey, 

witnesses. Those who are encouraged to testify will 
be again at the mercy of the Turks after the Com- 
mission rises. I have not the slightest doubt that 
some Avill be courageous enough to testify, but it 
will be at great odds. Almost everything is against 
the perfect success of the Commission's work, or 
rather the favorable outcome of the work of the 
European delegates. It will not be right to stake 
the fate of Armenia on the outcome of the work of 
this Commission. 

Rather it should be remembered that Sassoun is 
the outcome of a governmental system. There have 
been hundreds of Sassouns all over the country all 
through the last ten years, as you know. The laxity 
of Europe has afforded opportunity for the merciless 
working of this system in all its vigor. It is born of 
religious and race hatred, and has in mind the crush- 
ing of Christianity and Christians. 

It is not the Kourdish robbers, or famine, or chol- 
era that have to answer for the present state of the 
country. It is rather the robbery, and famine, and 
worse than cholera entailed on the country by the 
workings of this system. It is not alone the blood 
of five thousand men, women, children, and babies, 
that rises in a fearful wail to heaven, callinef for 
just vengeance, but also the fearful suffering, the 
desolate homes, the wanton cruelty of tax collectors 
and petty officials, and the violated honor of scores 
and scores. 

The Turk is on trial. Let not Sassoun alone go 
in evidence, but remember that the same wail rises 
from all over the country. 



A Chapter of Horrors, 2 7 

No. 9. 
[From a graduate of an American school.] 

[Translated.] 

G . . ., Nov. 4, 1894. 

*' / implore that you will rcmemher one of your 

former pupils, and hear 7ny cry. Oh, woe is me, 

eternal pain and sorrow to my young heart ! Evil 

disposed and lawless men have robbed me of the bloom 



f: 


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It ■ " i^M««,^ 


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ARMENIAN GIRLS OF VAN. 

and beauty of my zuifely purity. It was H Bey 

the son of the Kaimakam (the local Turkish Governor 
residing in the village). I was engaged in my house- 
hold work. I stepped outside the door, when I suddenly 
found myself in the grasp of four men. They smoth- 
ered my cries and threatened my life, and by force 
carried me off to a strange house. Though this is 
writtejt with ink, believe me, it is writte7i in blood and 
tears'' 



28 The Crisis in Turkey, 

THE SEQUEL TO SASSOUN. 

The Sassoun massacre, which was first publicly 
proven beyond doubt by the foregoing evidence, was 
simply a gigantic murder of which the perpetrators 
were the Sultan's regular and irregular troops, and 
of which the victims were four thousand hardy, 
brave, but helpless mountaineers, the flower of the 
Armenian race. The massacre took place early in 
September, 1894. Within a month, the British 
Government was in possession of the main facts 
through reports of its own consuls. But Instead of 
taking prompt action, It spent several months more 
in polite correspondence on the subject with the 
Powers and the Porte. After giving his officials 
four months In which to clear up the evidences of 
their crime, the Sultan sent a '^ Commission of In- 
quiry " to Investigate at Moosh. This Commission 
was a farce from beginning to end, for It was com- 
posed of Turks, and the Sultan had already rewarded 
and decorated the criminals. England, France, and 
Russia, whose right and duty It was to have Insti- 
tuted an Investigation of their own, contented them- 
selves with the '' concession " from the Sultan that 
their vice-consuls should be allowed to attend the 
sittings of the Commission as visitors, but without 
the power of summoning or protecting w^Itnesses. 

It is clear that the diplomats did not take the 
Commission seriously, for, without awaiting Its report 
they proceeded to prepare a " Scheme of Reforms " 
for the six eastern provinces — namely, Erzerum, Van, 
Bitlls, Diarbekir, Harpoot, and Sivas — and presented 
it to the Sultan on May 11, 1895. 




y, 



A Chapter of Horrors, 29 

These reforms were mild and in the line of what 
the Turks had frequently promised, and their exe- 
cution was entrusted to the Sultan. But in spite of 
all this he obstinately refused to accept them. 

Spring and summer passed, the anniversary of the 
Sassoun massacre arrived. No redress had been 
secured, nor the punishment of a single official, nor 
the adoption of a single reform. Europe seemed to 
be trying to hush up the Armenian question. 

The Armenians felt that this would mean the 
sleep of death to their race. 

They had been growing more and more restive 
under the long delay, and a few hot-heads decided 
to have a demonstration in Constantinople in hope 
of hastening matters. They made no secret of it, 
representing that they were simply going to present 
a petition to the Grand Vezier in an orderly manner, 
and sent word to him beforehand of their purpose. 
Such methods of securing attention to grievances are 
common in Turkey. But the authorities, as a matter 
of course^ took the wrong line of action. Instead of 
letting the crowd go to the Porte and present its 
petition, as usage requires, thus passing the affair off 
in a quiet manner, the police were ordered to block 
the way. This led to a riot on September 30th, 
during which about twenty Armenians were badly 
hurt, and three of them died, as well as three of 
the police. 

The few Armenians who had made a show of 
resistance belonged to the Hunchagist or '' agitat- 
ing " society. The members of this society are a 
mere handful compared with the mass of the Ar- 



30 The Crisis in Tttrkey, 

menian population, which reahzes its utter helpless- 
ness and has no thought of resistance. No one 
understands this better than the Turkish Govern- 
ment ; but it delights to find an occasional trace 
of disloyalty, in order to brand the whole race as 
seditious, and thus justify the policy of cruelty, im- 
poverishment, and extermination which it has been 
deliberately executing in Armenia for years, and is 
determined to continue. 

If in defending their right of petition the Ar- 
menians were guilty, their guilt ends there, for they 
made no further resistance. But great numbers 
of them were arrested at once, and several hundred 
were brutally killed in Constantinople during the 
week by Mohammedan civilians and Softas, or 
religious students. 

The following is a significant extract from a 
letter : 

"Constantinople, Oct. 5. 1895. 

''The slaughter continued through Tuesday and 
Wednesday morning. There was no general attack 
on houses, but a tendency to kill every Armenian 
seen in the streets. This morning the Sultan sent 
presents to the Softas engaged in the work. No 
Mohammedan has been arrested for murder of 
Armenians. The worst feature of the whole affair 
has been the brutal murder of prisoners at the Min- 
istry of Police by the officers charged with their 
guardianship. Several eye-witnesses describe how 
men were beaten to death by the police in the Court 
of the Ministry. The clerk of a foreign consulate 
happened to be there on Monday, and saw eight 



A Chapter of Horrors, 3 1 

Armenians brought in from the street and instantly 
bayoneted." 

The massacre at Trebizond, October 8th, was the 
first of a series, and in many respects was typical of 
those which rapidly followed in Erzerum, Erzingan, 
Baiboort, Sivas, Marsovan, Cesarea, Harpoot, Bitlis, 
Diarbekir, Malatia, Marash, Aintab and other places 
It should be remembered, however, that Trebizond, 
being a seaport, with a large foreign population and 
European consuls, suffered less than the cities of 
the interior where there were no such restraining 
influences. 

The following description of the massacre at Tre- 
bizond, is that of an American eye-witness and was 
written on the spot at the time. 

"Trebizond, Oct. 9, 1895. 

*' On Saturday, October 5th, the excitement in 
town (over news of the attacks on Armenians in 
Constantinople) was very intense. The Consuls had 
a consultation, and going in a body to the Governor, 
earnestly pressed him to arrest those who were 
exciting the people to acts of outrage. The Gover- 
nor declined to do so but promised in his own way 
to do 'the right thing' ! 

" Suddenly like a clap of thunder in a clear sky, 
the assault began at about 11 A.M. yesterday. Un- 
suspecting people walking along the streets and 
merchants sitting quietly at their shop doors were 
shot ruthlessly down. Some were slashed with 
swords until life was extinct. They passed through 
the quarters where only old men, women, and chil- 



32 The Crisis in Turkey, 

dren remained, killing the men and large boys, gen- 
erally permitting the women and younger children 
to live. For five hours this horrid work of inhuman 
butchery went on. Then the sound of musketry 
died away and the work of looting began. Every 
shop of an Armenian in the market was gutted. 
For hours bales of broadcloth, cotton goods, and 
every conceivable kind of merchandise passed along 
without molestation to the houses of the spoilers. 
The intention evidently was to impoverish and as 
near as possible to blot out the Armenians of this 
town. So far as appearances went, the police and 
soldiers distinctly aided in this savage work, their 
only care being to see that the right ones — that iS; 
Armenians — were killed." 

" Trebizond, Oct. 14, 1895. 

" Many, who even promised to accept the religion 
of Islam, were still most cruelly hacked to pieces. 

In this city and vicinity the killed number i,ooo, 
almost exclusively males. When you consider that 
the adult males of the Armenian community did 
not number more than 2,000, the frightful mortality 
is at once understood. On the other hand, not one 
of the rioters has been arrested ; not one has been 
disarmed. Apparently all this wholesale murder of 
peaceable and law-abiding subjects of the Sultan is 
no crime worthy of notice. The Armenians are 
now so prostrated that they can do nothing. Relief 
must come from abroad." 

October i6th was a day of rejoicing in Constanti- 
nople, but it will be remembered as one of the 



A Chapter of Horrors. 33 

blackest days in Armenian history. On that day 
the Sultan professed to accept the scheme of re- 
forms which for more than five months the Powers 
had urged upon him in vain. What he really did 
as subsequent events demonstrate beyond a doubt, 
was to sign the death-warrant of the Armenians who 
were to have profited by the reforms. He had darkly 
hinted that this would follow if he were pushed too 
hard, but no one believed that he would really 
prove so vindictive or so foolish as to carry out the 
threat The Armenian leaders who were baffled m 
trying to present their petition on September 30th, 
had for two weeks kept up a silent protest by com- 
pelling all Armenians to close their shops m the 
bazaars. But the granting of the reforms, which 
was all that the so-called "revolutionists de- 
manded, produced at once an enormous sense of 
relief, and the streets were as busy as ever. 

From this time on reform by massacre was thr 
order of the day. The Armenians in city after cit;. 
were quickly given over to slaughter and spoliation 
The following letter, written from Erzerum withm 
three weeks after the Sultan accepted the reforms, 
shows with what energy, zeal, and good faith he 
carried them out. It should be remembered that 
Shakir Pasha, the Imperial Reform Commissioner, 
and Raouf Pasha, the best Governor in all the East- 
ern provinces, were in command at Erzerum : 

" Erzerum, Nov. 5, 1895. 
" The wave of destruction started at Constanti- 
nople and has so i^x swept through Trebizond, Bai- 
3 



34 The Crisis in Turkey. 

boort, Erzingan, Erzerum, Bitlis, Harpoot, and the 
intervening districts. The entire Erzerum province 
has been deluged in Christian blood and the bulk of 
Christian property plundered or destroyed. 

"The scheme of reform has now become an impossi- 
bility. The only hope of this land is foreign occu- 
pation. Appeal for relief funds. The remnant of 
the people are left in utter destitution. They cannot 
get out of the country. Two cents a day will give 
a man about a pound and a half of bread. For the 
love of God do all you can to get relief for these 
wretched people ! 

*' The scene in the cemetery was awful. The re- 
mains are simply the wrecks of human bodies. Awful 
cruelty was practised. The majority have bullet 
wounds in addition to bayonet, sword, and dagger 
cuts. Some were skinned, some burned with kerosene. 
A great many women are missing. Very many of 
the dead have been disposed of by the Turks them- 
selves. There must have been a thousand killed. 
About seven hundred houses and fifteen hundred 
shops were plundered of all that was in them. The 
wanton destruction of property that could not be 
removed was very marked. Boxes and other furni- 
ture were split to pieces. Provisions that could not 
be carried away were destroyed. 

'' The Armenians had shown a great amount of 
patience. I am perfectly sure they had no thought 
of attack, much less any preparation for it. The 
attack was made by Moslems after leaving the 
mosques, after the noon hour of prayer, and it was 
simultaneous all over the city. The Armenians 



A Chapter of Horrors, 35 

were in their places of business, which were simply 
death-traps. For instance, the silversmiths' row was 
cut off at either end and not a man escaped, and the 
shops were not only plundered but wrecked. In 
fact, the most violent Armenians, /. ^., the Hiincha- 
gistSy had determined to keep perfectly quiet till the 
scheme of reform was well tried. The soldiers de- 
clare that they had been instructed beforehand. The 
Turks were expecting it for a long time, and evi- 
dently the orders were given from Constantinople. 
The massacre was almost entirely in the hands of 
the mihtary. It began and ended with the bugle. 

The following has been received from perfectly trust- 
worthy sources in regard to the massacre at Sivas : 

" The outbreak began on November 12th and was 

* permitted ' to continue for seven days ; during this 

* bloody week ' about twelve hundred Armenians and 
ten Turks were killed. Suddenly at noon, as if at a 
given signal, the Turkish laborers seized their tools, 
clubs, or whatever was at hand ; soldiers, Circassians, 
and police their arms, — all under command of officers. 
— and rushed to the market to begin their dreadful 
work of killing, stripping the dead, and looting the 
houses. No resistance was made by the Armenians. 
Many of the merchants and their clerks were killed ; 
thus at one blow the Armenian element is eliminated 
from the trade at Sivas. The Armenian villagers in 
the vicinity have been robbed of everything, and the 
people are left to beg and die. The suffering on the 
approach of winter will be very great. 

" As the fury of this storm of blood and greed 
subsided, the stricken Armenians of Sivas slowly 



^6 The Crisis in Turkey, 

gathered the mangled and naked bodies of their 
kinsmen to their cemetery, where a great trench had 
been dug to hold the horrid harvest of death. A 
single priest read a short service over the long and 
ghastly rank, and thus was closed another chapter 
in the yet unfinished story of cruelty, lust, and 
fanaticism." 

Similar reports from a score of other places might 
be given, but for the fact that space and the feelings 
of the reader forbid. The story is the same every- 
where. The greatest loss of life was in the province 
of Harpoot or Mamouret-ul-Aziz. Here 1 5,000 were 
slaughtered. Letters from that region state : " The 
Kurds plunder, but do not generally kill unless re- 
sisted ; but the Turks kill in cold blood and in ways 
suggested by the Arch-Fiend himself. The fate of 
the survivors is even worse than that of those who 
have been killed. The villagers wander about the 
fields houseless, with scanty clothing, no food, and 
winter is upon them. Everywhere they meet with 
the dread alternative, ' Become Moslems or die.' At 
least fourteen Protestant pastors, besides Gregorian 
priests and hundreds of their flocks, have been pub- 
Hcly martyred on refusing to deny their faith." 

'' In many places the Moslems are picking up the 
destitute widows and orphans and simply taking 
possession of them in order to make them Moham- 
medans without any will of their own." " Fifty-five 
Armenian women and girls, thus carried off from 
Ozoonovah, a village near Harpoot, were being con- 
veyed along the Euphrates, when, by a swift de- 
cision, they all jumped into the river and drowned 




SUI.TAN OF TURKEY 




SMOKING AND TAKING TURKISH COFFEE. 



A Chapter of Horrors, 2>7 

themselves to escape a life of Mohammedan slavery 
and bestiality." 

A letter from Cesarea of Dec. 3, 1895, states: 
" The method taken with the women was to de- 
mand that they proclaim themselves Moslems. If 
they refused, as many did, even young girls from 
twelve to fifteen years of age, they were cut down 
mercilessly. This is not intended to be a sensational 
account. It is a cruel fact which can be substantiated 
with the utmost ease." 

Enough of this Chapter of Horrors ! It has been 
necessary to omit the most cruel details, and the 
stories of inhuman lust of which hundreds of pure 
Christian women, both matron and maid, have been 
the victims, shall not be allowed to soil the pages 
of this book nor to defile the imagination of the 
reader. It will be sufficient to give a general sum- 
mary of the massacres of October, November, and 
December, 1895. 

A GENERAL SUMMARY. 

Careful study of trustworthy reports from all the 
regions devastated proves beyond doubt that the 
recent outbreaks^ while sudden^ were luider careful 
direction in regard to place, thne, nationality of the 
victims and of the perpetrators, were prompted by a 
common motive and their trne character has been sys- 
tematically co7tcealed by Turkish official reports. 

I. With some exceptions, the massacres have been 
confined to the provinces to be reformed. In out- 
rages elsewhere, as at Marash, Aintab, Oorfa and 
Cesarea, the Moslems were excited by the nearness 



^S The Crisis in Turkey, 

of the scenes of massacre, and by the reports of the 
plunder which others were securing. The region 
devastated is vast, being five hundred miles east and 
west, and three hundred north and south. It ex- 
tends from Asia Minor proper to the Russian and 
Persian frontiers, and from the Black Sea to the 
Mesopotamian plain. 

2. The massacre in Trebizond occurred just as the 
Sultan, after six months of refusal, was about to 
consent to the scheme of reforms demanded by the 
Powers^ as if to warn them that, in case they per- 
sisted, the mine was already laid for the destruction 
of the Armenians. In fact the massacre of the 
Armenians is Turkey's real reply to the demands 
of Europe that she reform. From Trebizond the 
wave of murder and robbery swept on through 
almost every city and town and village in the six 
provinces where reforms were promised. When the 
news of the first massacre reached Constantinople, 
a high Turkish official remarked to one of the am- 
bassadors that massacre was like the small-pox : 
they must all have it, but they would n't need to 
have it the second time. 

3. The victims were exclusively Armenians. In 
Trebizond there is a large Greek population, but 
neither there nor elsewhere have the Greeks been 
molested. Special care has also been taken to avoid 
injury to the subjects of foreign nations, with the idea 
of escaping foreign complications and the payment 
of indemnities. The only marked exceptions were 
in Marash, and in Harpoot, where eight buildings 
belonging to the American Mission were plundered 



A Chapter of Horrors, 3^ 

and burned, the total losses exceeding $100,000, for 
which no indemnity has yet been paid, though more 
than three months has passed. 

4. The method in the cities has been to kill within 
a limited period the largest number of Armenians 
— especially men of business, capacity and intelli- 
gence — and to beggar their families. Hence the mas- 
sacres were begun during business hours, when the 
Armenians could be caught in their shops, just after 
the noonday prayer of the Moslems. The surprised 
and unarmed Armenians made little or no resist- 
ance, and where, as at Diarbekir and Gurun, they 
undertook to defend themselves, they suffered the 
more. The killing was done with guns, revolvers, 
swords, clubs, pickaxes, and every " conceivable 
weapon, and many of the dead were horribly 
mangled. The shops and houses were absolutely 
gutted, and often burned. 

Upon hundreds of villages the Turks, Kurds, and 
Circassians came down like the hordes of Tamerlane, 
robbed the helpless peasants of their flocks and 
herds, stripped them of their very clothing, and car- 
ried away their bedding, cooking utensils, and even 
the little stores of provisions which they had with 
infinite care and toil laid up for the seventies of a 
rigorous winter. Worst of all is the bitter cry that 
comes from every quarter that the Moslems carried 
off hundreds of Christian women and children. 

The number killed in the massacres thus far is 
estimated at forty thousand. Not less than two 
hundred and fifty thousand wretched survivors, most 
of whom are women and children, are in danger of 



40 The Crisis in Turkey, 

perishing by starvation and exposure unless foreign 
aid is promptly sent and allowed to reach them. 

5. The perpetrators were the resident Moslem 
population — armed and instigated by the authorities, 
who had previously disarmed the Christians, — rein- 
forced by Kurds, Circassians, and in several cases by 
the Sultan's soldiers and officers, who began the 
dreadful work at the sound of a bugle, and desisted 
when the bugle signalled to them to stop. This was 
notoriously true in Erzerum. In Harpoot, also, the 
soldiers took a prominent part, firing on the build- 
ings of the American Mission with Martini-Henri 
rifles and Krupp cannon. 

It is an utter mistake to suppose, as some have, 
that the local authorities could not have suppressed 
the '' fanatical " Moslem mobs and restrained the 
Kurds. The fact is that the authorities, after look- 
ing on while the massacres were in progress, did 
generally intervene and stop the slaughter in the 
cities as soon as the limited period during which the 
Moslems were allowed to kill and rob had expired. 

6. The motive of the Turks is apparent even to 
the superficial observer. The scheme of reforms 
devolved civil offices, judgeships, and police appoint- 
ments on Mohammedans and non-Mohammedans 
in the six provinces proportionately. This, while 
simple justice, was a bitter pill to the Mohamme- 
dans, who had ruled the Christians with a rod of 
iron for five hundred years. All that was needed to 
make the scheme of reforms inoperative was to alter 
the proportion of Christians to Mohammedans. This 
policy was at once relentlessly and thoroughly exe- 



A Chapter of Horrors, 41 

cuted. The Armenians have been both diminished 
and utterly prostrated, first, by killing at a single 
blow those most capable of taking a part in any 
scheme of reconstruction, and, secondly, by com- 
pelling the survivors to die of starvation, exposure, 
and sickness or to become Moslem. Thousands in 
despair of help from God or man have already ac- 
cepted the religion of the murderers of their rela- 
tives. Though only an outward acceptance now, it 
will soon become an irrevocable fact, unless the awful 
pressure of the Turks is broken by foreign inter- 
vention. 

It is the very essence of Mohammedanism that 
the ghiaour has no right to live save in subjection. 
The abortive schemes of Europe insisting on the 
rights of Armenians as men and Christians have 
enraged the Moslems against them. The arrogant 
and non-progressive Turks know that in a fair and 
equal race the Christians will outstrip them in every 
department of business and industry, and they see 
in any just scheme of reforms the handwriting on 
the wall for themselves. 

7. The refinement of cruelty appears in this, that 
the Turkish Government has attempted to cover up 
its hideous policy and deeds by the most colossal lying 
and hypocrisy. By the constant publication of men- 
dacious telegrams and reports, it has tried to make 
Europe and America believe that the agricultural and 
commercial Armenians, stripped of all weapons and 
in a hopeless minority, are in rebellion. It is true 
that on September 30, 1895, some hot-headed young 
Armenians, contrary to the entreaties of the Arme- 



42 The Crisis in Turkey, 

nian Patriarch and the orders of the poHce, attempted 
to take a well worded petition to the Grand Vizier, 
according to a time-honored custom. It is also true 
that brave and oppressed mountaineers in the one 
isolated town of Zeitoun drove out a small garrison 
of Turkish soldiers, whom, however, they treated 
with humanity ; it is likewise true that in various 
places individual Armenians, in despair, have advo- 
cated acts of violence and revenge with the hope of 
calling attention to their wrongs. But the universal 
testimony of impartial foreign eye-witnesses is that, 
with the above exceptions, the Armenians have 
given no provocation whatever. If the Armenians 
made attacks, where are the Turkish dead ? 

And all this has been done by those who have 
for years dazzled and deceived Europe with Hatti 
Shereefs and Hatti Humayouns, promulgating civil 
equality and religious liberty for their Christian sub- 
jects. 

The Sultan who is the head of all authority in 
Turkey, wrote to Lord Salisbury, and pledged his 
word of honor that the scheme of reforms should be 
carried out to the letter, at the very moment when 
he was directing the massacres. And the six great 
Christian Powers of Europe, as well as the United 
States, still treat this man with infinite courtesy and 
deference. 

The most appalling feature of this vast tragedy is 
the fact that all the *' civilized " and " Christian " na- 
tions of the world have watched it for months with- 
out moving a finger to check it. The sober truth is 
that civilization is not progress, and that the Chris- 
tianity of to-day is not Christian. 



CHAPTER IL 

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT EASTERN 
TURKEY. 

IN order that the ordinary reader may grasp the 
situation in Armenia, information is given at 
this point in regard to the country itself, its ad- 
ministration, the elements that compospe the popula- 
tion, and their relations to one another. 

The massacre took place in the mountainous Sas- 
soun district just south of Moosh, two days' ride 
west of Bitlis, a large city where the Provincial-Gov- 
ernor and a permanent military force reside. It is 
near the western end of Lake Van, about eight hun- 
dred miles east of Constantinople, two hundred and 
fifty miles south of Trebizond on the Black Sea, and 
only one hundred and fifty miles from the Russian 
and Persian frontiers of Asiatic Turkey. These dis- 
tances do not seem great until the difficulties of 
travel are considered. The roads are, in most cases, 
bridle paths, impassable for vehicles, without bridges, 
infested with highwaymen, and unprovided with 
lodging-places. It is, therefore, necessary to go to 
the expense of hiring government guards, and to 
burden oneself with all articles likely to be needed 
CD the way — tents, food supplies, cooking utensils, 

43 



44 The Crisis in Turkey, 

beds, etc., which also imply cooks, baggage horses, 
and grooms. Thus equipped, it is possible, after 
obtaining the necessary government permits, often a 
matter of vexatious delay, to move about the coun- 
try. The ordinary rate is from twenty to thirty 
miles a day. With a good horse and no baggage I 
have gone three hundred and fifty miles, from Har- 
poot to Van, in eight days, but that was quite ex- 
ceptional. In spring, swollen streams and mud ; in 
summer, oppressive heat ; and in winter, storms, are 
serious impediments. In the neighborhood of Bitlis 
the telegraph poles are sometimes buried, and horses 
cannot be taken out of the stables on account of 
the snow. The mails are often weeks behind, both 
in arriving and departing, and even Turkish light- 
ning seems to be yavash, and crawl sluggishly along 
the wires. 

Turkish Armenia — by the way, "Armenia" is a 
name prohibited in Turkey — is a large plateau quad- 
rangular in shape, and sixty thousand square miles 
in area, about the size of Iowa. It is bounded on 
the north by the Russian frontier, a line from the 
Black Sea to Mount Ararat, by Persia on the east, the 
Mesopotamian plain on the south, and Asia Minor 
on the west. It contains about six hundred thousand 
Armenians, which is only one fourth the number 
found in all Turkey. The surface is rough, consist- 
ing of valleys and plains from four to six thousand 
feet above sea-level, broken and shut in by bristling 
peaks and mountain ranges, from ten to seventeen 
thousand feet high, as in the case of Ararat. Ancient 
Armenia greatly varied in extent at different epochs. 








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Information about Eastern Turkey, 45 

reaching to the Caspian at one time, and even bor- 
dering on the Mediterranean Sea during the Crusades. 
It included the Southern Caucasus, which now con- 
tains a large, growing, prosperous, and happy Arme- 
nian population under the Czar, whose government 
allows them the free exercise of their ancestral re- 
ligion, and admits them to many high civil and mili- 
tary positions. The Armenians now number about 
four million, of whom two million five hundred 
thousand are in Turkey, one million two hundred 
and fifty thousand in Russia, one hundred and fifty 
thousand in Persia and other parts of Asia, one hun- 
dred thousand scattered through Europe, and five 
thousand in the United States. 

The scenery, while harsh, owing to the lack of ver- 
dure, is on a grand scale. Around the shores of the 
great Van Lake are many views of entrancing beauty. 
The climate is temperate and the atmosphere bril- 
liant and stimulating. It is a dry, treeless region, 
but fertile under irrigation, and abounding in mineral 
wealth, including coal. Owing to primitive methods 
of agriculture, and to danger while reaping and even 
planting crops, only a small part is under cultivation, 
and frequent famines are the result. The mineral 
resources are entirely untouched, because the Turks 
lack both capital and brains to develop them, and 
prevent foreigners from doing it lest this might 
open the door for further European inspection and 
interference with their methods of administering the 
country. 

All local authority is practically in the hands of 
the Valis^ provincial governors, who are sent from 



46 The Crisis in Turkey, 

Constantinople to represent the sovereign, and are 
accountable to him alone. The blind policy which 
was inaugurated by the present Sultan of dismissing 
non-Moslems from every branch of public service — 
post, telegraph, custom-house, internal revenue, en- 
gineering, and the like — has already been carried out 
to a large extent all over the empire, and especially 
in Armenia. The frequent changes in Turkish offi- 
cials keeps their business in a state of " confusion 
worse confounded," and incites them to improve 
their chance to plunder while it lasts. Traces of the 
relatively large revenue, wrung from the people, and 
spent in improvements of service to them, are very 
hard to find. 

THE INHABITANTS. 

Probably about one half of the population of 
Turkish Armenia is Mohammedan, composed of 
Turks and Kurds. The former are mostly found in 
and near the large cities, such as Erzingan, Baibourt, 
Erzerum, and Van, and the plains along the northern 
part. The Kurds live in their mountain villages 
over the whole region. The term Kurdistan, which 
in this region the Turkish Government is trying to 
substitute for the historical one Armenia, has no 
political or geographical propriety except as indicat- 
ing the much larger area over which the Kurds are 
scattered. In this vague sense it applies to a stretch 
of mountainous country about fifteen hundred miles 
in length, starting between Erzingan and Malatiah, 
and sweeping east and south over into Persia as far 
as Kermanshah« 




A KURD OF THE OLD TYPE. 



47 



48 The Crisis in Turkey, 

The number of the Kurds is very uncertain. Neither 
Sultan nor Shah has ever attempted a census of them ; 
and as they are very indifferent taxpayers, the revenue 
tables — wilfully distorted for political purposes — are 
quite unreliable. From the estimates of British con- 
sular officers there appear to be about one and a half 
million Turkish Kurds, of whom about 600,000 are in 
the vilayets of Erzroom, Van, and Bitlis, and the rest 
in the vilayets of Harpoot, Diarbekir, Mosul, and 
Bagdad. This is a very liberal estimate. There are 
also supposed to be about 750,000 in Persia.^ 

The Kurds, whose natural instincts lead them to a 
pastoral and predatory life, are sedentary or nomad 
according to local and climatic circumstances. Where 
exposed to a severe mountain winter they live ex- 
clusively in villages, and in the case of Bitlis have 
even formed a large part of the city population. But 
the tribes in the south, who have access to the Meso- 
potamian plains, prefer a migratory life, oscillating 
with the season between the lowlands and the moun- 
tains. The sedentary greatly outnumber the nomad 
Kurds, but the latter are more wealthy, independent, 
and highly esteemed. There is, probably, little eth- 
nic distinction between the two classes. 

A fourteenth-century list of Kurdish tribes contains 
many names identical with those of powerful families 
who claim a remote ancestry. '' There was, up to a 
recent period, no more picturesque or interesting 
scene to be witnessed in the East than the court of 
one of these great Kurdish chiefs, where, like another 
Saladin, [who was a Kurd himself,] the bey ruled in 
1 Encyc, Britannica, " Kurdistan." 



Information about Eastern Turkey, 49 

patriarchal state, surrounded by hereditary nobiUty, 
regarded by his clansmen with reverence and affec- 
tion, and attended by a body-guard of young Kurdish 
warriors, clad in chain armor, with flaunting silken 
scarfs, and bearing javelin, lance, and sword as in the 
time of the crusaders."^ Within two days' ride 
southeast of Van, I found the ruins of four massive 
Kurdish castles at Shaddakh, Norduz,Bashkallah, and 
Khoshab, which must have rivalled those of the feudal 
barons on the Rhine. The Armenian and Nestonan 
villagers were much better off as serfs of the power- 
ful masters of these strongholds than as the victims 
of Kurdish plunder and of Ottoman taxation and 
oppression which they now are. 

The Kurds are naturally brave and hospitable, and, 
in common with many other Asiatic races, possess 
certain rude but strict feelings of honor. But since 
their power has been broken by the Turks, their 
castles ruined, and their chiefs exiled, these finer 
qualities and more chivalrous sentiments have also 
largely disappeared un'der the principle of nohlesse 
oblige reversed. In most regions they have degener- 
ated into a wild, lawless set of brigands, proud, 
treacherous, and cruel. The traditions of their for- 
mer position and power serve only to feed their 
hatred of the Turks who caused their fall, and their 
jealousy and contempt of the Christians who have 
been for generations their serfs, whose progress and 
increase they cannot tolerate. 

One who has a taste for adventure and is willing 
to take his Hfe in his hands, can find among them as 
1 Encyc. Britannica, " Kurdistan." 

4 



50 



The Crisis in Turkey, 



fine specimens of the human animal as are to be 
found anywhere — sinewy, agile, and alert, with a 
steady penetrating eye as cool, cold, and cruel as that 




RUINS OF A KURDISH CASTLE AT KHOSHAB, 



of s. tiger. I vividly recollect having just this impres- 
sion under circumstances analogous to that of a 
hunter who suddenly finds himself face to face with 



htformation abotct Eastern Turkey, 5 1 

a lord of the jungle. There was no sense of fear, at 
the time, but rather a keen dehght and fascination in 
watching the magnificent creature before me. His 
thin aquiline face, his neck and hands were stained by 
the weather to a brown as delicate as that of a 
meerschaum pipe, and on his broad exposed breast 
the thick growth of hair obliterated any impression 
of nudeness. For a few moments he seemed engaged 
in some sinister calculation, but at last quietly moved 
away. Perhaps he wanted only a cigarette. Perhaps 
he wondered if I, too, had claws. The Winchester 
rifle behind his back did not escape my notice, nor 
did the gun across my saddle escape his. It is hardly 
necessary to remind those Avho may desire such ex- 
periences as the above, that the usual retinue of cooks, 
servants, and zabticJis should be dispensed with in 
order to secure the best opportunities for observation. 

The Kurdish costumes, always picturesque, show 
much local variation in cut and color. The beys 
and khans of the colder north almost invariably pre- 
fer broadcloth, and find the finest fabrics and richest 
shades — specially imported for them — none too good. 
But the loose flowing garments of the Sheikhs and 
wealthy Kocher nomads of the south are often very 
inexpensive, and suggest Arab simplicity and dig- 
nity. There is, no doubt, considerable Arab blood 
in some of these families, who refer to the fact with 
pride. 

The women of the Kurds, contrary to usual Mo- 
hammedan custom, go unveiled and have large lib- 
erty, but there is no reason to suspect their virtue. 
Their prowess, also, is above reproach, and rash would 



52 The Crisis in Turkey, 

be the man, Turk or Christian, who would venture 
to invade the mountain home when left in charge of 
its female defenders. On the whole, the Kurds are 
a race of fine possibilities, far superior to the North 
American Indian, to whom they are often ignorantly 
compared. Under a just, intelligent, and firm gov- 
ernment much might be expected of them in time. 

They keep up a strict tribal relation, owing alle- 
giance to their Sheikhs, some of whom are still strong 
and rich, and engage in bitter feuds with one 
another. They could not stand a moment against 
the Ottoman power if determined to crush and dis- 
arm them. But three years ago His Majesty sum- 
moned the chiefs to the capital, presented them with 
decorations, banners, uniforms, and military titles, 
and sent them back to organize their tribes into 
cavalry regiments, on whom he was pleased to be- 
stow the name Hamedie'h, after his own. Thus, 
shrewdly appealing to their pride of race, and wink- 
ing at their subsequent acts, the Sultan obtained a 
power eager in time of peace to crush Armenian 
growth and spirit, and a bulwark that might check, 
in his opinion, the first waves of the next dreaded 
Russian invasion. In the last war the Kurdish con- 
tingent was worse than useless as was shown by Mr. 
Norman,^ of the Loridon Times. 

The Armenians, a very important element of the 
population, are generally known as being bright, 
practical, industrious, and moral. They are of a 
very peaceable disposition, and entirely unskilled 
in the use of arms, the mere possession of which 
* Armenia and the Campaign of iSyj^ 



Information about Eastern Turkey. 53 

is a serious crime in the case of Christians, al- 
though the Kurds are well equipped with modern 
rifles and revolvers, and always carry them. Their 
great and fundamental weakness, seen through all 
their history, is a lack of coherence, arising from 
their exaggerated individualism. They have the 
distinction of being the first race who accepted 
Christianity, King Dertad receiving baptism in 276 
A. D., thirty-seven years before Constantine ventured 
to issue even the Edict of Toleration. Their martyr 
roll has grown with every century. The fact that 
the Armenian stock exists at all to-day, is proof of 
its wonderful vitality and excellent quahty. For 
three thousand years Armenia, on account of her 
location, has been trampled into dust both by devas- 
tating armies and by migrating hordes. She has 
been the prey of Nebuchadnezzar, Xerxes, and Alex- 
ander ; of the Romans, the Parthians, and Persians ; 
of Byzantine, Saracen, and Crusader; of Seljuk and 
Ottoman, and Russian and Kurd. Through this 
awful record, the Christian church founded by 
Gregory, " The Illuminator," has been the one rally- 
ing point and source of strength, and this explains 
the tremendous power of the Cross on the hearts of 
all, even of the most ignorant peasant. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE CHRONIC CONDITION OF ARMENIA 
AND KURDISTAN. 

MANY statements in regard to the state of 
affairs in Eastern Turkey are criticised as 
being too sweeping and general, and the in- 
ference is drawn that they are exaggerations, not 
based on exact knowledge of the facts. This chap- 
ter will, therefore, contain nothing but definite inci- 
dents and figures, names and places also being added 
regardless of consequences. This information is fur- 
nished by a trustworthy authority on the ground, and 
lias already been published in The Independent, of 
Kew York, January 17, 1895, from which I quote 
A^erbatim. It shows the usual course of things in 
times of so-called peace between Kurds and their 
Christian slaves, and indicates to what sort of a life 
these Armenian, Jacobite, and Nestorian Christians 
are condemned when no massacre is in hand. From 
my own residence and travels in Armenia, I know 
that the incidents related would apply to hundreds 
of villages with simply a change of name. 

''A Partial List of Exactions made upon the Village 
of Mansiirieh of Bohtan (Kaimakamlik of Jezireh) 
by the government, and by Mustapha Pasha, a Kurd- 
ish Kocher, or nomad chief, in 1893 ; 

54 



Condition of A rmenia and Kurdistan, 5 5 



SUMMARY. 



I. Government Exaction 



Excess of official de- 
mand 3,000 ps.^ 

Amount of double tax 4,000 

Produce taken by gen- 
darmes.... 2^ 9,000 ps. 

2 Exaction by M. Pasha. Excess of tithe revenue 1,500 

2. li^xaction oy Damage to crops 2^ J^ 

Total excess taken from village for 1893. 12,500 

Total of legitimate taxes on village for the year. . . 14,000 

The village complained to the government of 
Mustapha Pasha s exactions, but no redress was given 
by the government, nor anything done to Mustapha 
Pasha, who, when he learned of their having made 
complaint, sent droves of sheep to devour the crops 
that remained, viz., five pieces of ground sown and 
bearing cotton, millet, flaxseed, etc., valued at 2000 

^'^^^plrtial List of Exaction by Aghas of Shernakh (one 
day north of Jezireh), from Hassana of Bohtan, dur- 
ing years 1891-93. Hassana has sixty houses : 

Us^e^'of 30 men to carry flour for Mohammed 

Agha, 2days..... •• •••. t ooo 

For Mohammed Agha, cash 10 bras 1,000 

I. «' " 15 pieces of cloth 150 

" Taher Agha, cash 14 hras • i'400 

" taken from village priest, cash 
75 ps., saddle 75 ps-, watch 

200 ps 350 

" Sahdoon Agha, cash 2 liras 200 

" Mohammed ' ^ 

Carried forward 3,370 ps. 

1 A piastre is a Turkish coin of about five cents, or two pence- 
half penny. In this region the pay of a day laborer is from two to 
five piastres. 



56 The Crisis in Turkey, 

Brought forward 3,370 ps. 

For Khorsheed 57 

" Mohammed Agha, harvest, 500 men at 3 ps. . 1,500 
" repair of his roads, 65 men, 

3 days 487 

* ' repair of his roads, 50 men, 

3 days 375 

' * preparation of boiled wheat 

for winter, 450 men and 

14 animals 1,160 

" building house in Dader, 

150 men 375 

" 2000 ceiling sticks, 10 

posts 554 

' ' 4 large trees for rafters, at 

50 ps 200 

Total for 1893 8,078 ps. 

The above were noted in a book at the time of the 
occurrence by a village priest, as being seen by him 
personally, and do not give the great part of the ex- 
actions of the Shernakh Kurds, which he did not see. 

One item additional to above : all the cotton of 
Mohammed Agha of Shernakh is, by the villagers, 
beaten, spun, twisted, woven, and returned as cloth 
(involving many days' labor and two days* journey), 
and any weight lost in the making up the amount 
must be made good. 

This oppression is increasing from year to year. 
The above priest noted for years 1880-82, taken by 
Aghas — cash, 4141 ps. ; 90 animals used, 450 ps. ; 
314 men used, 785 ps. Total for three years, 5376, 
as over against 10,973 ps. for three years, i89i-'93." 

** Testimony given in writing, by a Christian of the 
District of Berwer, in reference to the oppression of 
Christians in that district by the Kurds, of which he 
himself was an eye-witness, the examples given being 
confined to three small villages and of recent occur- 



Condition of Armenia and Kurdistan 57 

rence. He gives the names of places and of the 
parties concerned, both Kurds and Christians. We 
summarize them. 

Murders. — Eight men mentioned by name, others 
generalized. 

Robbery. — Cash, 9 liras; again 10 liras ; again 15 
liras ; smaller sums being taken continually. 

Mohammed Beg, of Berwer, and his relatives re, 
sponsible in greater part for the above; also for 
robbing of two houses in Ina D'Noony. 

For generations these Christians have sown the 
fields of these Kurds, harvested them, done their 
threshing, irrigated their fields, cut and brought in 
the grass as fodder for the sheep for use during the 
winter, together with much other labor, and all with- 
out recompense, they finding themselves. 

(These things are accompanied, of course, with 
cursings and beatings.)'* 

*' A number of Christian villages lying farther back 
in the mountains are even more severely oppressed. 
The people are literally bought and sold as slaves. 
In other districts the buying and selling of Christians 
by Kurds is common." 

'' Village of Shakh (five hours from Jezireh) ; like 
Mansurieh deserted for months by reason of extor- 
tion by tax collectors. Many of the people lived 
during the winter in caves in the mountains." 

*'The writer was in Nahrwan when the Kaimakam 
of Jezireh came, several weeks after a murder, to 
examine into it. The examination was rendered 
so oppressive to the Christians that the people were 
glad to declare that nothing had happened, in order to 



58 The Crisis in Turkey, 

escape any further inquisition. Even the old mother 
of the murdered man was frightened until she de- 
clared that she did not know of any such occurrence, 
and had no complaints to make against anybody." 

" Kannybalaver — Kaimakamlik of Amadia. Dur- 
ing the years 1893-94 this village was raided sev- 
eral times by the Gugier and Sendier Kurds of the 
Kaimakamlik of Jezireh. They took one hundred 
head of animals, field tools, household utensils, beds, 
wool and yarn, gall-nuts — all of their fall gathering, — 
and dry goods which had been brought in to sell. 
At their last visit everything movable was carried 
off, and the people deserted the village. A leading 
man of the village, Gegoo by name, was seized by 
the Kurds, carried for several miles, anr was then 
murdered in cold blood. There were about one hun- 
dred Kurds in the band led by Ahrno, brother of 
Hassu of Ukrul and Kerruvanu. The chief men of 
their village are Sherriffu and Hassu, who would be 
responsible for such a raid." 

*' In the city of Mosul, where there is a Vali, Chris- 
tians are robbed and killed openly. Three cases are 
given. Last year a young man, of the Protestant com, 
munity, of high standing in the city as a merchant, 
was standing before his door when two young Kurds 
of notorious character came along, and one of them, 
without the slightest provocation, at the time or 
previously, from mere wantonness, stabbed him, and 
would have killed him had he not been restrained. 
The family of the man, though one of the most in- 
fluential famines among the Christians of the city, 
did not dare to make accusation against him, know- 
ing that the only result would be more bloodshed." 



Condition of Armenia and Kurdistan, 59 

"An old missionary who has been famiHarwith the 
region from Bohtan to Amadia for years, says these 
oppressions are increasing, and unless something is 
done speedily, all the Christian villages of these 
various districts will soon fall into the hands of the 
Kurds just as they have in Zabur." 

"These instances of oppression given are but a few 
of the many which might be given. Indeed it is 
not these greater occurrences, as the big raids and 
murders, which are the most serious to the Chris- 
tian. It is the daily constant exactions and oppres- 
sions which are crushing the life out of them." 

A whole chapter might well be devoted to the 
oppression by government officials in^ assessing and 
collecting taxes. This evil is general, affecting all 
Turkey. A brief summary of these abuses as gener- 
ally practised will be given. In view of the poverty- 
stricken condition of the land, even the legitimate 
taxes are an exceedingly heavy burden on Moslem 
and Christian alike, but the burden is greatly in- 
creased by the methods here classified : 



SUMMARY OF ABUSES. 

"I. Unjust and corrupt assessments. 

1. Villagers are compelled to give assessors pres- 
ents of money to prevent them from over estimating 
the taxable persons and property. 

2. Assessors, to secure additional bribes, signify 
their willingness to make an underestimate. This, 
in turn, affords opportunity for blackmail, which is 
used by succeeding officials." 



6o The Crisis in Turkey. 

"II. Injustice and severity in collecting. 

1. The collectors, like the assessors, have ways of 
extorting presents and bribes from the people. 

2. The collectors, as a rule, go to the villages on 
Sunday, as on that day they find the people in the 
village. They frequently interrupt the Christian 
services, and show disrespect to their churches or 
places of prayer. 

3. The collection of the taxes is accompanied with 
unnecessary abuse and reviling, sometimes even with 
wanton destruction of property. 

4. Disregard of impoverished condition of people. 
Even after several failures of crops in succession, 
when famine was so severe that the people were 
many of them being fed by foreign charity, the 
taxes were collected in full and with severity. 

Their food supply, beds, household utensils, and 
farming implements were seized by the collectors in 
lieu of taxes. Many were compelled to borrow 
money at enormous rates of interest, mortgaging 
their fields and future crops. Unscrupulous officials 
and other Kurds, in whose interests such opportu. 
nities are created, thus became possessed of Christian 
villages, the people of which henceforth becoming 
practically slaves to them, 

5. These collectors make false returns of taxes 
received. The official in the city is secured by a 
bribe, and the matter is kept quiet until a succeed- 
ing set of officials come into office. They send their 
officers to the villages to present claims for back 
taxes. The villagers in vain contend that they have 
paid them. They have no receipts. They do not 




WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE 
Armenia's Great Friend in Engi^and 



Condition of Armenia and Kurdistan, 6i 

dare to ask for them. Or the head man of the vil- 
lage who keeps the account has been bribed to falsify 
his accounts. These taxes are collected again, en- 
tailing much suffering upon the people. 

6. The books in the government offices at the 
Kaimakamlik are often incorrect through mistakes 
or dishonesty, and in consequence taxes are paid on 
fictitious names or on persons who have been dead 
for years." 

"III. Farming of taxes. 

Taxes are often farmed out to the highest bidder, 
who usually is some powerful Kurdish chief. Either 
in consequence of his power, or by means of bribes, 
he is secure from interference on the part of the 
government. He collects the amount due the gov- 
ernment and then takes for himself as much as he 
chooses, his own will or an exhausted threshing-floor 
being the only limit to his rapacity. 

While he is collector for these villages they are 
considered as belonging to him. During the year 
his followers pay frequent visits to the villages. 
They are ignorant and brutal, and on such visits, as 
also when collecting taxes, they treat the villagers 
with the utmost severity." 

" IV. All the above assessors and collectors— and 
they are many, a different one for each kind of tax, 
personal, house and land, sheep, tobacco, etc. — on 
their visits to the villages, take with them a retinue 
of servants and soldiers, who, with their horses, must 
be kept at the expense of the village, thus entailing 
a very heavy additional burden upon them. Sol- 
diers and servants sent to the villagers to make 



6z The Crisis in Ttirkey. 

collections, very naturally take something for them- 
selves." 

All the preceding testimony refers to regions where 
Jacobite and Nestorian Christians predominate and 
thus prove that Armenians are by no means the only 
sufferers. 

The same state of affairs svas found by Mrs. 
Bishop, who made investigations on the ground five 
years ago. 

'' On the whole, the same condition of alarm pre- 
vails among the Armenians as I witnessed previ- 
ously among the Syrian ^ rayaJis. It is more than 
alarm, it is abject terror, and not without good 
reason. In plain English, general lawlessness pre- 
vails over much of this region. Caravans are stopped 
and robbed, travelling is, for Armenians, absolutely 
unsafe, sheep and cattle are being driven off, and 
outrages, which it would be inexpedient to narrate, 
are being perpetrated. Nearly all the villages have 
been reduced to extreme poverty, while at the same 
time they are squeezed for the taxes which the 
Kurds have left them without the means of paying. 

The repressive measures which have everywhere 
followed 'the Erzerum troubles' of last June [1890] 
— the seizure of arms, the unchecked ravages of the 
Kurds, the threats of the Kurdish Beys, who are 
boldly claiming the sanction of the government for 
their outrages, the insecurity of the women, and a 
dread of yet worse to come — have reduced these 
peasants to a pitiable state." ^ 

' Often called Nestorian. 

' Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop, Journeys in Persia mtd Kurdistan^ 
vol. ii., p. 374, 375. 



Condition of Armenia and Kurdistan, 63 

Through the influence of the British Ambassador 
at Constantinople Mrs. Bishop was allowed to state 
the situation to the Grand Vizier in person, and on 
arriving in England she presented a detailed state- 
ment of facts to the Foreign Office and also to a 
Parliamentary Committee. 

That the recent outrages in Sassoun are conspicu- 
ous by their extent rather than character, the follow- 
ing incident, which came within the author's own 
knowledge, on the ground at the time, will show. 
In June, 1893, four young Armenians and their 
wives, living only two miles from the city of Van, 
where the Governor and a large military force reside, 
were picking herbs on the hillside. They carefully 
kept together and intended to return before night. 
They were observed by a band of passing Kurds, 
who, in broad daylight, fell upon the defenceless 
party, butchered the young men, and, as to the 
brides, it is needless to relate further. The villagers 
going out the next day found the four bodies, not 
simply dead, but slashed and disfigured almost be- 
yond recognition. They resolved to make a des- 
perate effort to let their wrongs at least be known. 

Hastily yoking up four rude ox carts, they placed 
on each the naked remains of one of the victims, 
witL his distracted widow sitting by the side, shorn 
of her hair in token of dishonor. This gruesome 
procession soon reached the outskirts of the city, 
where it was met by soldiers sent to turn it back. 
The unarmed villagers offer no resistance, but declare 
their readiness to perish if not heard. The soldiers 
shrink from extreme measures that might cause 



64 The Crisis in Turkey, 

trouble among the thirty thousand Armenians of 
Van, who are now rapidly gathering about the scene. 
The Turkish bayonets retreat before the bared 
breasts of the villagers. With ever increasing 
numbers, but without tumult, the procession passed 
before the doors of the British and Russian Vice- 
Consulates, of the Persian Consul-General, the Chief 
of Police and other high officials, till it paused be- 
fore the great palace of the Governor. 

At this point Bahri Pasha, who is still Governor, 
stuck his head out of the second-story window and 
said : " I see it. Too bad ! Take them away and 
bury them. I will do what is necessary." Within 
two days some Kurds were brought in, among whom 
were several who were positively identified by the 
women ; but, upon their denying the crime, they 
were immediately released and escaped. The utter 
hopelessness of securing any justice was so apparent, 
and experience had so often demonstrated the dan- 
ger of arousing the Kurds to greater atrocity by 
further efforts to punish them, that the case was 
dropped and soon forgotten in the callousness pro- 
duced by other cases of frequent occurrence. The 
system of mail inspection is so effective (all letters 
of subjects must be handed in open at the post-office) 
and the danger of reporting is so great that I doubt 
that any account of this incident has ever been 
given to the civilized world. This case was doubtless 
reported by the former British Vice-Consul, unless 
he was busy hunting, and, as usual, was buried in the 
archives of the Foreign Office for '' state reasons." 

A foreign physician, never a missionary, and now 



Condition of Armenia and Kurdistan, 65 

out of the country, told me that during a large prac- 
tice of a year and a half in Armenia, while using 
every effort to save life, only one case was remem- 
bered of regret by the doctor for a fatal ending,— so 
sad is the lot of those who survive. This instance 
will explain the strange statement. A call came to 
see a young man sent home from prison in a dying 
condition. He could not speak, and had to be nour- 
ished for days by artificial feeding, because his stom- 
ach could not retain food. Constant and skilful care 
for a month brought him back to Hfe, from the con- 
dition to which his vile, dark, unventilated cell and 
scanty food had brought him. As soon as the police 
learned of his unexpected recovery, he was seized and 
re-imprisoned, though an only son, with a widowed 
mother and sister dependent upon him. When 
last heard of, he was still '' awaiting trial." Such 
confinement is a favorite method of intimidation 
and blackmail in the case of the innocent, and, in 
the case of the guilty, amounts to punishment with- 
out the cost and labor involved in proving the guilt 
and securing sentence by legal process. 

From my own house in Van goods of considerable 
value were stolen in November, 1893. Though I 
had good clews to the guilty parties and would have 
been glad to recover my property, I felt constrained 
to use every precaution not to let the affair come to 
the ears of the police, lest they should use it as a 
pretext for searching the houses of many innocent 
Armenians, in the hope of finding a letter, book, or 
weapon of some kind, which might serve as an ex- 
cuse for imprisonment. This course exposed me to 



66 The Crisis in Turkey, 

further attacks of thieves and necessitated a night 
watchman. 

WHY ARE THESE FACTS NOT KNOWN? 

The ignorance and incredulity of the public is a 
most significant commentary on the situation. But 
the explanation is simple. In the nature of the case, 
in reports of outrages where the victims or their 
friends are still within the clutches of the Turks, all 
names of individuals and often the exact locality 
must be concealed. Such anonymous accounts 
naturally arouse little interest, and, of course, cannot 
be verified. The former British Consul-General at 
Erzerum, Mr. Clifford Lloyd, showed me at that 
place many such reports sent to him by members of 
Parliament for verification. He was unable to verify 
them, but said that the reports gave a correct im- 
pression of the condition of the country. At that 
very time, October, 1890, Mr. Lloyd called atten- 
tion, in an official dispatch, published in the '' Blue 
Books,'' to : 

" I. The insecurity of the lives and properties of the 
Armenians. 2. The insecurity of their persons, and 
the absence of all liberty of thought and action. 3. 
The unequal status held by the Christian as compared 
with the Mussulman in the eyes of the government." 

On this subject there are five channels of varying 
market value. First. Consular reports, meagre 
and often inaccessible. The United States has no 
consuls in Armenia, and consequently no " official " 
knowledge of its condition. European consuls are 
expected to report nothing that they are not abso- 



Condition of Armenia and Kurdistan, 67 

lutely sure of, and are given to understand, both by 
their own governments and by that of Turkey, that 
they must not make themselves obnoxious in seeking 
information. They are, at best, passive until their 
aid is sought, and then alarm the suppliants by refus- 
ing to touch the case unless allowed to use names. 
Second. Missionaries, whose mouths are sealed. 
They would be the best informed and most trust- 
worthy witnesses. But they feel it their first duty to 
safeguard the great benevolent and educational in- 
terests committed to them by not exciting the sus- 
picion and hostility of the government. Their 
position is a delicate one, conditional on their neu- 
trality, like that of officers of the Red fross Society 
in war. Third. Occasional travellers, whose first 
impressions are also often their last and whose hasty 
jottings are likely to be very interesting and may be 
very misleading. Not so in the case of Mrs. Isabella 
Bird Bishop, whom I had the pleasure of meeting 
there, and who embodied the result of her careful in- 
vestigations in an article entitled, " The Shadow of 
the Kurd " in TJie Contemporary Review} Fourth. 
Much evidence from Armenian sources, which is 
often unjustly discredited as being the exaggeration, 
if not fabrication, of " revolutionists who seek a 
political end." Fifth. Turkish official reports, often 
obtained by corrupt or violent means, or invented to 
suit the circumstances. Though the financial credit 
of the Ottoman Government was long ago exhausted, 
there are some well meaning people who still place 
confidence in Turkish explanations and promises. 
^ The Contemporary Review^ May and June, i8gi. 



68 The Crisis in Turkey, 

WHAT CAN BE DONE? 

The scope of this book does not permit a discus- 
sion of even the Armenian phase of the Eastern 
question, bey.ond a bare reference to its possible 
three-fold solution. There is, first, Russian annexa- 
tion, a step for which the sufferers themselves are 
praying, and which Russia is prepared to execute at 
a moment's notice. If this were the only alterna- 
tive from present conditions, it should be universally 
welcomed. Russia is crude, stupid, and, in certain 
aspects, brutal, but she is not decrepit, debauched, 
and doting like official Turkey. The diseases of the 
" Sick Man " are incurable and increasing, while the 
bully of the North is young, of good blood, and with 
an energy suggestive of a force of nature. Russia 
shaves half the head of seceders from the Orthodox 
Church and transports them. Turkey, with more 
tact, quietly *' disposes " of converts from Islam, 
many of whom would step forth if the prospect were 
less than death. The Jewish question, from the 
Russian standpoint, is largely a social and industrial 
one, like the Chinese question in the United States. 
When the writer passed from Turkish Armenia into 
the Caucasus, it was from a desert to a garden ; 
from danger to perfect security ; from want and sor- 
row to plenty and cheer. 

Until lately, thousands of Turkish Armenians have 
been in the habit of crossing the Russian border in 
spring, earning good wages during the summer, and 
returning to spend the winter with their families. 
This has opened their eyes to the contrast between 
the two lands and turned their hearts to Russia. 




ARMENIAN LAFY 




GROUP OF ARMENIANS 



Condition of Armenia and Kurdistan, 69 

The second solution is Armenian autonomy, like 
that of Bulgaria, the fond dream of those who 
ignore the geographical difficulties, the character, 
and distribution of the population, and the temper 
of Russia and other powers by whom it would have 
to be established and maintained. 

The only other method is radical and vigorous ad- 
ministrative reforms, which the European powers 
should initiate, and report to Turkey, instead of vice 
versa, as arranged in Article LXI. of the Berlin 
Treaty. These '' Christian nations " have for six- 
teen years violated most sacred treaty obligations, 
and England a special guarantee for such reforms. 
While attended with difficulties, this is the most 
desirable solution, and is favored by the great mass 
of Armenians throughout Turkey, by the Anglo- 
Armenian Association,^ founded by Prof. James 
Bryce, M.P., and by the Phil-Armenic Society in this 
country.'^ The real spirit and aim of the Armenian 
race, as a whole, is unfortunately obscured, in the 
mind of the public, by utterances and acts of a few 
irresponsible Armenian hot-heads, who have imbibed 
nihilistic views in Europe, and are trying, in a very 
bungling way, to apply them. 

^The Case for the Armenians. London: Anglo-Armenian Asso- 
ciation. 

^ An Appeal to the Chris tiajis of America by the Christians of Ar~ 
menia. New York : Phil-Armenic Society. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OTTOMAN PROMISES AND THEIR FUL- 
FILMENT. 

IMPERIAL edicts of toleration, and promises of 
reform on the part of the Sublime Porte, have 
been very numerous, and have served Turkey 
well as political expedients. Their value is that o^ 
so much dust thrown in the eyes of Europe when 
her aid or her mercy was needful. As these reforms 
have all been promised under pressure, they have 
likewise been abandoned just so fast and so far 
as the pressure has been removed. In many cases 
there has been serious retrogression. The sow that 
is washed is forever returning to wallow in the mire. 
It is as true of the " Sick Man " as of him out of 
whom seven devils were cast, that the last state of 
that man is worse than the first. This is emphat- 
ically so in regard to the freedom of the press, the 
curtailment of religious and educational privileges, 
and the safety of the lives and property of 
Christians. 

The following is a partia. list of Turkish promises 
which have been broken in whole or in part, with 
the circumstances under which they were made. 

I. In 1829, by the Treaty of Adrianople at the 
close of a war with Russia, Turkey promised to re- 

70 



Ottoman Promises and their Fulfilm^ent, 71 

form in her treatment of Orthodox Christians, and 
acknowledged Russia's right to interfere in their 
behalf.^ 

2. In 1839 Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid, in order to en- 
list European sympathy and aid — when the victori- 
ous Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha was threat- 
ening Constantinople — issued an Imperial rescript, 
the Hatti Sherif, in which he promised to protect 
the life, honor, and property of all his subjects irre- 
spective of race or religion. 

3. In 1844 the same Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid gave a 
solemn pledge that thenceforth no apostate from 
Mohammedanism who had formerly been a Christian 
should be put to death. This pledge was extorted 
from the Sultan by the Ambassador of Great Britain, 
supported by those of other Powers, after the public 
execution in Constantinople of a young Armenian, 
Ovagim, who had declared himself a Mohammedan, 
but who afterwards bravely maintained his Christian 
profession in the face of torture and death. Since 
that time many Moslems even have embraced Chris- 
tianity, and have been put out of the way, quietly in 
most cases. 

4. In 1850 the same Sultan, on the demand of the 
same Powers, in view of the continued and fierce per- 
secution of the Protestant subjects of the Porte, 
granted the latter a charter, guaranteeing them lib- 
erty of conscience and all the rights as a distinct 
civil community, which had been enjoyed by the 
other Christian communities of the empire. But to 
this day the numerous Protestants of Stamboul have 

* Morfill's Russia, p. 287. Putnam. 



72 The Crisis in Turkey, 

never been allowed to erect even one churchy although 
they have owned a site and had the necessary funds, 
and been petitioning for a firman to build for fifteen 
years/ The Greek Protestants of Ordoo, who have 
a church, are not allowed to worship in it. There 
are many other flagrant violations of this charter. 

5. In 1856, after the Crimean War, Sultan Abd-ul- 
Medjid,to anticipate demands which he knew would 
be included in the Treaty of Paris then being drawn 
up, issued the Imperial edict known as the Hatti 
Humayoun. This edict not only promised perfect 
equality of civil rights to all subjects of the Porte, 
but also added: "As all forms of rehgion arc and 
shall be freely professed in my dominions, no subject 
of my empire shall be hindered in the exercise of the 
religion that he professes, nor shall he in any way be 
annoyed on this account." But as the interpretation 
and enforcement of this edict has remained absolutely 
in the hands of the Turkish Government, it is need- 
less to add that it has been a dead letter.'* 

6. In 1878 the Anglo-Turkish Convention, entered 
into just before the Treaty of Berlin, included these 

^ Rev. H. O. Dwight, The Independent, New York, January 17, 1895. 
® At the time of the Crimean War Lord Aberdeen said : 
"Notwithstanding the favorable opinion entertained by many, it 
is difficult to believe in the improvement of the Turks. It is true 
that, under the pressure of the moment, benevolent decrees may be 
issued ; but these, except under the eye of some Foreign Minister, 
are entirely neglected. Their whole system is radically vicious and 
inhuman. I do not refer to fables which may be invented at St. 
Petersburg or Vienna, but to numerous despatches of Lord Stratford 
(de Radcliffe) himself, and of our own consuls, who describe a fright- 
ful picture of lawless oppression and cruelty." (Sir Theodore Mar- 
tin's Life of the Prince Consort, vol. ii., p. 528.) Quoted by Canon 
MacColl, The Contemporaiy Teview, January, 1 895. 



Ottoman Promises and their Fulfilment, 73 

words in its First Article : " His Imperial Majesty, 
the Sultan, promises to England to introduce neces- 
sary reforms, to be agreed upon later between the 
two Powers, into the government and for the protec- 
tion of the Christian and other subjects of the Porte 
in these territories [Armenia] ; and in order to enable 
England to make necessary provision for executing 
her engagement [the keeping of Russia out of Ar- 
menia], His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, further con- 
sents to assign the Island of Cyprus to be occupied and 
administered by England." Comment unnecessary. 

7. In July, 1878, by the Treaty of Berlin, religious 
liberty and the public exercise of all forms of religion 
were guaranteed in separate articles to the people 
of Bulgaria, Eastern Roumelia, Montenegro, Servia, 
Roumania, and finally to all subjects of the Porte in 
every part of the Ottoman Empire. Cases of glaring 
violation of the principle of religious liberty may be 
found in Appendix C. on The Censorship of the Press. 

The Sixty-first Article of the same treaty reads 
thus: "The Sublime Porte undertakes to carry out, 
without further delay, the improvements and re- 
forms demanded by local requirements in the prov- 
inces inhabited by the Armenians, and to guarantee 
their security against the Circassians and Kurds. It 
will periodically make known the steps taken to this 
effect to the Powers, who will superintend their ap- 
pHcation." 

What the condition of Turkey was three years 
later, not simply in Armenia, but throughout Asia 
Minor, is shown by a report of Mr. Wilson, British 
Consul-General in Anatolia. 

" There has probably never been a time in which 



74 The Crisis in Turkey, 

the prestige of the Courts has fallen so low, or in 
which the administration of justice has been so venal 
and corrupt. The most open and shameless bribery 
is practised from highest to lowest ; prompt, even- 
handed justice for rich and poor alike is unknown; 
sentence is given in favor of the suitor who 'places' 
his money m.ost judiciously ; imprisonment or free- 
dom has in many places become a matter of bribery; 
robbers, when arrested, are protected by members of 
the Court, who share their spoil ; a simple order may 
send an innocent man to prison for months ; crime 
goes unpunished, and all manner of oppression and 
injustice is committed with impunity. The Cadis,^ 
especially those in the cazas,*^ are, as a rule, ignorant 
men, with no education, knowing little of law, except 
the Sheri, on which they base their decisions, and 
sometimes not overmuch of that. As to the mem- 
bers, it is sufficient to say that they are nearly all 
equally ignorant of law, and that probably not twenty- 
five per cent, of them can write Turkish, or read the 
sentences to which they attach their seals. In the 
Commercial Courts, the Presidents are frequently 
entirely ignorant of the duties which they have to 
perform. The low pay of the Cadis, the short term 
— two years — during which they hold their appoint- 
ments, and the manner in which they obtain them, 
render the receipt of bribes almost a necessity. The 
first thought of a Cadi who buys an appointment in 
the provinces is to recoup himself for his outlay; 
the second, to obtain enough money to purchase a 
new place when his term of office is finished. Even 
under this system men are to be found who refuse 

* Judge. * Local districts. 



Ottoman Promises and their Puljilment, 75 

to receive bribes ; and there are others who, whilst 
giving way to temptation, deplore the necessity to 
do so." ' 

The sequel to the Treaty of Berlin is found in 
the next chapter. 

The non-fulfilment of Ottoman promises in regard 
to Christian subjects, and the frequent massacres of 
the latter are an exact fulfilment of 

THE OFFICIAL PRAYER OF ISLAM 

which is used throughout Turkey, and daily repeated 
in the Cairo ''Azhar" University by ten thousand 
Mohammedan students from all lands. The follow- 
ing translation is from the Arabic : 

" I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, [the rejeemi 
the accursed. In the name of Allah the Compas- 
sionate, the Merciful ! O Lord of all Creatures ! 
O Allah ! Destroy the infidels and polytheists, thine 
enemies, the enemies .of the religion! O Allah! 
Make their children orphans, and defile their 
abodes ! Cause their feet to slip ; give them and 
their families, their households and their women, 
their children and their relations by marriage, their 
brothers and their friends, their possessions and 
their race, their wealth and their lands, as booty to 
the Moslems, O Lord of all Creatures ! " " 

All who do not accept Mohammed are included 
among "the infidels" referred to in the prayer. 

* Report of Mr. Wilson, Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 8 (1881), page 
57, No. 48. 

* The Mohammedan Missionary Problem, p. 31. Jessup. Phila- 
delphia, Presb. Pub. See 



CHAPTER V. 
THE OUTCOME OF THE TREATY OF BERLIN. 

IT is quite needless to remark that Turkey, instead 
of doing anything to improve the condition of 
the Armenians, has done much to make it 
worse during the past fifteen years. The question 
now arises, what have the Powers signatory to the 
BerHn Treaty done to compel the Sublime Porte 
"to carry out the improvements and reforms" 
demanded in the Sixty-first Article ? And what 
steps has Great Britain taken in addition, to dis- 
charge the additional obligation for the improve- 
ment of Armenia which she assumed by the so-callec 
Cyprus Convention ? 

We find that in November, 1879, ^^^ English 
Government, seeing that matters throughout Asia 
Minor were really going from bad to worse, went 
the length of ordering an English squadron to the 
Archipelago for the purpose of a naval demonstra- 
tion. The Turkish Government was greatly ex- 
cited, and with a view to getting the order counter- 
manded, made the fairest promises. 

But England was not the only Power aroused. On 
June II, 1880, an Identical Note of the Great 
Powers demanded the execution of the clauses of 

76 



The Outcome of the Treaty of Berlin, 77 

the Treaty of Berlin which had remained in suspense. 
In the conclusion of the Identical Note a clear 
recognition is made of the fact that the interest of 
Europe, as well as that of the Ottoman Empire, requires 
the execution of the Sixty-first A rticle of the Treaty of 
Berlin, and that the joint and incessant action of the 
Powers can alone bring about this result. 

On July 5th, the Turkish Foreign Minister sent a 
Note in reply to the representatives of the Powers. 
" It is of great length and small real value, except as 
combining in a remarkable degree the distinguish- 
ing characteristics of modern Ottoman diplomacy, 
namely, first, great facility in assimilating the ad- 
ministrative and constitutional jargon of civilized 
countries ; second, consummate cunning in conceal- 
ing under deceptive appearances the barbarous reality 
of deeds and intentions ; third, cool audacity in 
making promises which there is neither the power 
nor desire to make good ; and, finally, a paternal and 
oily tone, intended to create the impression that the 
Turkish Government is the victim of unjust preju- 
dices and odious calumnies." 

As soon as the reply of the Porte was received. 
Earl Granville sent copies to the British Consuls in 
Asia Minor, inviting observations thereon. Eight 
detailed replies to this request are published in the 
Blue-Book.^ They concur in a crushing condemna- 
tion of the Ottoman Government. 

These conclusions, moderately and very diffusely 
expressed in diplomatic phraseology, are reflected in 

' Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 6, 1881, reports of Wilson, Bennett, 
Chermside, Trotter, Stewart, Clayton, Everett, and Bilotti. 



yS The Crisis in Turkey, 

the Collective Note which was sent on Sept. 1 1, 1880, 
to the Sublime Porte by the Ambassadors of the 
Great Powers. On October 3d, without making the 
shghtest references to censures which had been 
addressed to it, and even appearing completely to 
ignore the Collective Note, the Porte, assuming a 
haughty tone, merely notified the Powers of what it 
intended to do. 

In a Circular of the 12th of January, 1881, Earl 
Granville tried again to induce the other five Powers 
to join in further representations to the Sublime 
Porte on the subject. But the other Powers seem 
to have thought that the diplomatic comedy had 
gone far enough, and sent evasive answers. Prince 
Bismarck expressed the opinion that there would be 
"serious inconvenience" in raising the Armenian 
question, and France hid behind Germany. Such 
action by the powers had been anticipated by the 
British Ambassador at Constantinople, Mr. Goschen, 
who had already written to Earl Granville : " If they 
[the Powers] refuse, or give only lukewarm support, 
the responsibility will not lie with Her Majesty's 
Government." The whole correspondence was sim- 
ply a matter of form/ I have condensed this outline 
of events since the Treaty of Berlin from Armenia^ 
the Armenians^ and the Treaties,^ following as far as 
possible the words of the writer, M. G. Rolin-Jae- 
quemyns, a high authority on International Law. 

From 1 88 1 to the present time, almost with- 
out exception, England, on her part, has allowed 

1 Blue-Book, Turkey, i88i, p. 242. 

' Published by John Heywood, London, 1891, pp. 82-89. 



The Outcome of the Treaty of Berlin, 79 

no mention in her Blue-Books of the manner in 
which her protege's and those of Europe have been 
treated. Her energies have seemed to be devoted 
to stifling the ever-increasing cry of despair from 
Armenia, instead of attempting her rescue or rehef. 
The other Powers are only less guilty, in proportion 
as they have done less to perpetuate Ottoman mis- 
rule, and have made less pretence of sympathy and 
help for the oppressed. Freeman says of England, 

" By waging a war on behalf of the Turk, by sign- 
ing a treaty which left the nations of South-eastern 
Europe [and Asia Minor] at the mercy of the Turk, by 
propping up the wicked power of the Turk in many 
ways, we have done a great wrong to the nations 
which are under his yoke ; and that wrong which we 
have ourselves done it is our duty to undo." ^ 

It is thus clearly seen that both the Sixty-first 
Article of the Berlin Treaty, and the Cyprus Con- 
vention as well, have been of positively no value in 
securing for the Armenians any of the reforms which 
were therein recognized as imperatively called for 
and guaranteed. It is also clear that the condition 
of Armenia, and of Turkey as a whole, is even vastly 
worse and more hopeless than it was twenty years ago. 

This condition, I further maintain, is in large 
measure directly attributable to those treaties them- 
selves and to the attitude subsequently assumed by 
the Powers which signed them. It is said that the 
Armenians have brought trouble on themselves, by 
stirring up the Turks. I ask what stirred the Ar- 
menians up ? It was primarily the Sixty-first Article 
* Freeman, The Turks in EurQpc^ 



8c 



The Crisis in Turkey. 



of the Treaty of Berlin. Many a time has that 
precious paragraph been quoted to me in the wilds 
of Kurdistan by common Armenian artisans and 




PROFESSOR MINAS TCHERAZ. 

Present at the Berlin Congress. 



ignorant villagers. They had welcomed it as a 
second evangel, and believed the word of England 
as they did the gospels. // was that Article which 



The Outcome of the Treaty of Berlin, 8i 

roused them from the torpor of centuries. They saw- 
Bulgaria rise from her blood and shame and enter 
on a career of honor and prosperity under the aegis 
of European protection. Is it surprising that hopes 
and aspirations have been born anew in the heart of 
the Armenian race — a people not inferior to the 
Bulgarians and in many respects more talented ? 

I have rarely found it difficult to persuade intelli- 
gent Armenians that an autonomous Armenia is 
impracticable. But I have never been able to con- 
vince one of them that the course of England and 
the other powers has been anything but one of sel- 
fishness, jealousy, and dishonor as far as fulfilment 
of their treaty obligations is concerned- 

During a residence of four years in Eastern Tur- 
key I noticed a marked and rapid alienation of Arme-' 
nian sentiment from England in favor of Russia, who . 
now seems to them the only source of succor. They 
see in England only a dog in the manger. 

There is another sequel to the Berlin Treaty and , 
to the attitude of the powers, namely, its effect on 
the Turks themselves. The natural enmity and con-r 
tempt of the Moslem rulers and population gener- 
ally for the Christian subjects has been greatly 
increased by reason of the pressure which foreign 
Powers have occasionally brought to bear on the 
Turks in order to procure reHef for the Christian. 
To be sure the only hope of such relief is from with-: 
out. But the pressure should not be of a petty, 
nagging and galling nature. This is worse than 
nothing. What is needed is prompt^ decisive, and final 
action, 

6 



82 The Crisis in Turkey, 

And things have now arrived at such a pass that 
in such action lies the only hope of preventing a ter- 
rible catastrophe, which will eclipse even the massa- 
cres of Sassoun. The wheels of progress will not go 
backward except as they are broken. The Chris- 
tians of Armenia can be exterminated, but it is too 
late for them to accept slavery or Islam. They may 
be slaughtered like sheep, but they will not all die 
like dogs. The revolutionary movement, as it is 
called, is thus far nothing but a blind turning of the 
worm. It is ill considered, without resources, reck- 
less, and foreign to the real spirit, objects, and meth- 
ods of the Armenians on Turkish soil. It is not 
denied that there are a few Armenians in Europe 
who, in despair and for lack of better teaching, have 
imbibed Nihilistic views and are trying, in a very 
bungling way, to apply them. They are hated by the 
vast majority of Armenians in Turkey. They are 
related to the question at issue in the same way and 
degree as train wreckers and box-car burners were to 
the industrial problem during the riots of Chicago 
in July last, and deserve the same treatment. The 
Turks take great pains to thrust them into public 
notice, as a cloak for themselves, and with good suc- 
cess. The Turkish Government and its partisans, in 
order to conceal the real character of the massacre 
in Sassoun, have made persistent, extensive, and dis- 
honorable use of a letter by the first President of 
Robert College, Constantinople, Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, 
written December 23, 1894. Dr. Hamlin's vigorous 
and indignant protest may be found in Appendix C. 

The idea of Armenian revolution is a new thing 



The Outcome of the Treaty of Berlin, ^^ 



in the history of that peaceable race, which has 
quietly submitted for centuries to the yoke of the 
Turk. But it is the natural outcome of the horrible 
situation in Armenia since the Treaty of BerHn, and 
the disease is bound 
to grow more viru- 
lent and contagious 
until the European 
doctors apply vigor- 
ous and radical treat- 
ment to the '' Sick 
Man." It is difficult 
to see how anything 
but a surgical opera- 
tion can be helpful. 
The knife has fre- 
quently been used in 
the case of this incur- 
able patient during 
the present century, 
and always with ex- 
cellent results, as for 
instance in the case 
of Greece, Lebanon, 
Bulgaria, B o z n i a- 
Herzegovina, and 
Egypt. 

A situation in many 
respects parallel to that in Armenia existed until 
lately in Bosnia and Herzegovina. How quickly 
and completely that difficult problem has been 
solved, is narrated by M. de Blowitz in the October, 




ZEIBEK, TURKISH SOLDIER, 
"IRREGULAR." 



84 The Crisis in Turkey, 

1894, issue of TJie Nineteenth Century ^ from which 
I condense in his own words. 

" The orders, given after the taking over of the 
country, to surrender all arms or to destroy them, was 
given a sweeping application. Yet, before the victo- 
rious entry of the Austro-Hungarians, each Bosnian 
each Herzegovinian, was a walking arsenal. 

" To-day weapons and ambuscades are things of 
the romantic past. Twelve years have sufficed, un- 
der M. de Kallay's administration, not only to re- 
move all traces of the wild, inhospitable, inaccessible 
Bosnia of which I have been speaking, but indeed 
and especially to banish even the memory of those 
dark days of strenuous battle, and to wipe away 
from the hearts of both invader and invaded all 
traces of the hate which then animated them. In 
the year 1882, the superior administration of the two 
provinces (Bosnia and Herzegovina) passed into the 
hands of the Minister of Finance of the Austro- 
Hungarian Empire, who was then, and who is still, 
M. de Kallay. From this moment all is changed. 
The powers given to the new administration are 
almost unlimited. The civil element has been sub- 
stituted for the military element, and pacification has 
succeeded conquest. The greatest effort is made to 
reassure all minds. Not a single minaret has disap- 
peared, not a muezzin is deprived of his resources." 

A recent writer wisely says that *' the Armenian 
question, if it ever be settled at all, must be taken 
out of the Turk's hands, whether he like it or not. 
. . . And we have an opportunity now, which 
may never come our way again, of settling a dififi- 




m 
O 

o 
o 

m 

o 
O 

W 



The Outcome of the Treaty of Berlin, 85 



culty which, if allowed to develop much longer, 
will prove more fruitful of mischief than any with 
which we have been confronted for a generation or 
more." » 

C. B. Norman, special corre- 
spondent of The London Times^ 
in his Armenia and the Cam- 
paign of iSyy^ wrote words 
which are even truer to-day. 
I condense: 

'* Naturally, since I have been 
here I have had many, very 
many, opportunities of convers- 
ing with Turkish officers and 
men on the so-called Eastern 
Question ; and the consequence 
is that, arriving in the country 
a strong philo-Turk, deeply 
impressed with the necessity of 
preserving the ^ integrity of the 
Empire * in order to uphold 

* British interests,' I now fain 
would cry with Mr. Freeman : 

* Perish, British interests, perish 
our dominion in India, rather 
than that we should strike a blow 
on behalf of the wrong against the right ! * ' 

" There is no finer race in the world than the Turk 




TURKISH SOLDIER, 
"REGULAR." 



* " Diplomatist," " The Armenian Question " in The New Review, 
January, 1895. 

2 Pp. 158-9. London : Cassell, Fetter, & Galpin. 
' Speech in St. James's Hall, December, 1876. 



86 The Crisis in Turkey, 

proper. Brave, honest, industrious, truthful, frugal, 
kind-hearted, and hospitable, all who hiow the 
Osmanli speak well of him. He is as much oppressed 
by the curse of misgovernment as his Christian fellow- 
subject ; and had the members of the Eastern Ques- 
tion Association as keen a sense of justice as they 
have love of writing, they would long ago have oblit- 
erated the word ' Christian ' from their lengthy docu- 
ments, and striven to ameliorate the condition of the 
lower orders of the subjects of the Porte, down- 
trodden as they are by an effete section of the 
Mohammedan race, who have degenerated in mind, 
body, and estate, since coming in contact with 
Western civilization. 

'' I do not for one moment mean to deny that there 
are honest, energetic Turks, capable of exercising 
their talents for their country's good ; but these men 
are powerless. The vital powers of the nation are 
so sapped by centuries of misrule, the minds of the 
majority are so imbued with the belief that all ideas 
not born of Moslem brains and sanctified by Moslem 
usage are false, and to be scorned, that were any 
honest-minded gentleman to rise to power, and en- 
deavor to check the present system of misgovern- 
ment, he would not remain in office one week. 
Captain Gambler's able article on the ' Life of 
Midhat Pasha ' ^ bears me out in this idea." 

^ The A''ineteenth Century, January, 1878. 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE SULTAN AND THE SUBLIME PORTE. 

CHURCH and State are one and inseparable in 
Turkey. The Sultan of the empire is also 
Calif of the Mohammedan religious world. 
He cannot abdicate either office, if he would, without 
vacating the other by the same act. In fact, herein 
lies the secret of the present Sultanas policy, which 
seems suicidal on general principles of government. 
He has, on the one hand, been lavish in the building 
and repairing of mosques, and in establishing Moslem 
schools throughout his dominions. On the other 
hand, he has infringed and ignored the ancient rights 
and privileges of the Christian Patriarchates which 
were guaranteed by Mohammed II., and have hitherto 
been regarded as sacred. He has blocked the erec- 
tion of new Christian schools and churches, and even 
the repairing of such as are falling into decay. 
There were formerly thousands of non-Moslems in 
civil positions, faithfully serving the government ; 
under the new regime, however, they have been 
systematically removed and excluded. And why 
has all this been done? Because the Sultan is a 
good conscientious Mohammedan, it is only fair to 
believe. Even if he were not a sincere believer, he 

87 



88 The Crisis in Turkey, 

would still feel compelled to adopt the same course, 
as a matter of internal political necessity. The 
Moslem population look to him as the Defender of 
the Faith, girded with the sword of the Prophet. 
He feels it imperative at all hazards to regain lost 
prestige over his fanatical subjects, especially in the 
south, where rumblings of discontent and disloyalty 
are ominous. ^ 

Let us be reasonable and practical. Why longer 
exact or accept from the Sultan promises which he 
cannot make without doing violence to his own 
conscience and to his office, and which he cannot 
execute without imperilling his throne ? You might 
as well ask the Pope to abandon the doctrines of 
temporal sovereignty and of infallibility, which to 
him are fundamental. If the situation in Turkey de- 
mands that anything be done, and if the rest of 
humanity and civilization have any responsibility in 
the matter, let practical statesmen proceed to busi- 
ness. All hope of reform from within depends on 

^ From a descendant of Dahir Billah, the thirty-fifth caliph of 
Bagdad, Sultan Selim I. "procured the cession of his claims, and ob- 
tained the right to deem himself the shadow of God upon earth. 
Since then the Ottoman padishah has been held to inherit the rights 
of Omar and Haroun, and to be the legitimate commander of the 
faithful, and, as such, possessed of plenary temporal and spiritual 
authority over the followers of Mohammed." ^ The Persians and 
Moors, however, reject this claim, and at the close of the Russian War 
not a few of the Arab muftis declared that the caliphate had been for- 
feited by the inglorious defeat of the Turks, and should now return 
to the Arab family of Koreish. 

' Freeman, The Saracens, p. 158. Quoted by Jessup, The Mo- 
hammedan Missionary ProbUmy p, 21, Philadelphia : Presbyterian 
Board of Publication, 1879, 



The Sultan and the Sublime Porte. 89 

the distrustful, distracted, hoodwinked Sultan, who 
is clearly, in the circumstances, a helpless and pitiable 
object. But he should no more be allowed to stand 
in the way of the emancipation of Turkey, than the 
Pope was allowed to impede the making of Italy. 
" The Prisoner of the Vatican " has still abundant 
scope for his great and beneficent spiritual projects; 
and the Captive at Yildiz Palace — for such he has for 
years constituted himself — may also be allowed a 
sphere in which his personal virtues and ability shall 
shine forth, unobscured by the clouds and darkness 
that surround him now. He certainly would be bet- 
ter off, and his subjects also — Moslem no less than 
Christian. 

The shrieks of ten thousand slaughtered Arme- 
nians pierce for the moment above the groans of 
others. But it should not be forgotten that all the 
races in Turkey are under the same curse, and that 
the present is a chance to help them as well as the 
Armenians. 

According to the Koran, which is the basis and 
ultimate authority of Mohammedan law — Code 
Napoleon, treaty stipulations, and Imperial Trades 
notwithstanding, — the whole non-Moslem population 
of Turkey are outlaws. The millions of ancient, 
hereditary inhabitants, whether Greek, Armenian, 
Nestorian, Jacobite, Jew, or Syrian, are considered 
aliens. Their legal status is that of prisoners of war, 
with corresponding rights and responsibihties.* Not 
one of them is expected or even allowed to serve in 
the army. Non-Moslems, whose services are indis- 
• Hughes, Notes on Muhammadanism, pp. 209, 210. 



90 The Crisis in Turkey, 

pensable to the government, are, in rare cases, put in 
civil offices, especially financial, for which no Moham- 
medan of sufficient integrity or ability can be found. 

It cannot be denied that the above is true in 
theory, and it is equally true that the theory is car- 
ried out so far as fear of intervention by Christian 
nations permits. 

But in this hour, when our hearts are stirred by the 
lot of our co-religionists under the Crescent, let us not 
forget that the Moslem population almost equally is 
cursed and impoverished by Turkish misrule, venal- 
ity, and taxation. They drink the cup of woe, all 
but the more bitter dregs of religious persecution, 
which is reserved for Christian lips. Their be- 
numbed condition, natural stolidity, and unquestion- 
ing obedience to Islam, a creed whose cardinal prin- 
ciple is submission,^ accounts for the fact that they 
do not appear as a factor of the problem. Yet even 
Mohammedans often secretly come pleading that 
Europe take some interest in their case too. In the 
name of humanity, yes, of Christianity, let them not 
be forgotten. 

"An Eastern Resident," writing from Constantino- 
ple, in an article entitled "■ Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid," 
in The Contemporary Review, January, 1895, gives an 
able analysis of the Sultan's position and policy, 
showing at the same time great appreciation of His 
Majesty as a man. His position and relations to the 
Sublime Porte are not well understood by the pub- 
lic, and could hardly be better stated than in these 
extracts : 

^ Hughes, Notes on Muhammadanism^ p. lo. 



The Sultan and the Sublime Porte, 91 

" So far as we can judge, the Sultan is a sincere 
and honest Mohammedan, and regards himself as a 




H. I. M. ABD-UL-HAMID KHAN, THE SULTAN OF TURKEY. 

true Caliph — a successor of the Prophet — the chief 
defender of the faith, under God the absolute arbi- 
ter of its destinies. He has undoubtedly done his 



^^ The Crisis in Turkey. 

best to reconcile the interests of the Caliphate with 
those of the Empire. . . . 

" In one particular it [the policy of the Sultan] is 
condemned by most enlightened Mohammedans as 
strongly as by Christians. His attempt to concen- 
trate the whole administration of the Empire in his 
own hands has led to the establishment of a dual 
government — that of tlje Palace and the Porte. The 
whole machinery of a government exists at the Porte. 
There are Ministers and fully organized departments. 
There is a Council of Ministers and a Council of 
State. All business is supposed to pass through 
their hands, and the whole administration is sup- 
posed to be subordinate to them. All is, of course, 
subject to the supreme will of the Sultan, but his 
ofificial advisers and his official agents are at the 
Porte. 

" In fact, however, there is another government at 
the Palace of Yildiz, more powerful than the official 
government, made up of chamberlains, mollahs, 
eunuchs, astrologers, and nondescripts, and supported 
by the secret police, which spares no one from the 
Grand Vizier down. The general policy of the Empire 
is determined by this government, and the most im- 
portant questions of state are often treated and 
decided, while the highest officials of the Porte are 
left in absolute ignorance of what is going on. It is 
needless to add that the Porte and the Palace are at 
sword's-point, and block each other's movements as 
far as they can. . . . 

" The Sultan evidently believes that he is equally 
independent of both these governments, and decides 




i ' ■ • * 



TURKISH WATER-CARRIERS 



The Sultan and the Sublime Porte, 93 

all questions, great and small, for himself. In form 
he does so, but no man can act independently of all 
his sources of information, and of the personal influ- 
ence of his entourage. Under the present system he 
makes himself responsible for every blunder and 
every iniquity committed in the Empire, but he has 
disgraced three distinguished Grand Viziers for tell- 
ing him so, and seems to have no idea of the causes 
of the intense dissatisfaction with his government 
which prevails among his Mohammedan subjects. 
The Turks, as well as the Christians, also condemn 
the laws restricting personal freedom, which have 
increased in severity every year. In many ways 
these laws are more galling to the Turks than the 
Christians. . . . 

'' There is another evil connected with this system 
which may lead to serious difficulties with foreign 
Powers. All foreign relations are supposed to be 
managed through the Minister of Foreign Affairs or 
the Grand Vizier, but these officials have no power 
and but little influence. They can promise nothing 
and do nothing. But in all delicate diplomatic ques- 
tions it is essential to treat with responsible agents, 
and to discuss them with such agents in a way in 
which it is impossible to treat with the Sovereign 
himself. The present system has been a serious injury 
to Turkey. It has roused the hostility of all the 
Embassies and led them to feel and report to their 
governments, that there is no use in trying to do any- 
thing to save this Empire ; that it is hopelessly cor- 
rupt, and the sooner it comes to an end the better 
for the world. There is no longer any concerted 



94 The Crisis i7t Turkey, 

action of Europe at Constantinople for the improve- 
ment of the condition of the people. . . . 

" If Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid would come out of his 
palace, restore to the Porte its full responsibility, 
disband its secret police, trust his Mohammedan sub- 
jects, and do simple justice to the Christians, his life 
would be far more secure than it is to-day, with all 
precautions ; his people and all the world would 
recognize the great and noble qualities which they 
now ignore, and welcome him as the wisest and best 
of all the Sultans. . . 

"The sad pity of it is that he will never do it. It 
is too late. The influence of the Palace favorites is 
too strong. He will appear in history not as the 
Sultan who saved the Empire, but as the one who 
might have saved it and did not." 



CHAPTER VII. 
PREVIOUS ACTS OF THE TURKISH TRAGEDY. 

IN this chapter ' I shall take no account of events 
that have taken place in legitimate warfare, 
where the slain were foreign enemies or rebel- 
lious subjects of the Sultan, resisting with arms in 
their hands after being ordered to submit. The " in- 
surgents "—as the Porte has called them~in all these 
cases have consisted of men, women, children, and 
infants, and in each case, by a curious coincidence, 
have been non-Mohammedan. 

In all of these massacres, Turkish military or civil 
officers presided and directed the bloody work, as will 
be seen by reference to the authorities mentioned. 
There have been many other massacres of less than 
ten thousand during the intervals, which, to use the 
language of Beder Khan in Mosul (see Layard's 
Nineveh), have confirmed the whole Turkish princi- 
ple, that " the Armenians were becoming too numer- 
ous, and needed diminishing." 

^ Parts of this chapter are taken from an article, " Notes on the 
Armenian Massacre," in The Independent, New York, January 31, 
1895, by a high authority, who is compelled to sign himself "A 
Student of Modern History." 

95 



q6 The Crisis iri Tttrkey, 

This item of Turkey's account, for the past 
seventy-five years only, stands about as follows : 



DEFENSELESS CHRISTIAN SUBJECTS MASSACRED IN 
TURKEY 1820 TO 1896. 

1822. Greeks, especially in Scio (Chios) . 50,000* 
1850. Nestorians and Armenians, Kur- 
distan . . . . . . 10,000' 

i860. Maronites and Syrians, Lebanon and 

Damascus 11,000' 

1876. Bulgarians, Bulgaria . . . 10,000* 

1 894-1 895. Armenians, Asiatic Turke}^ . 40,000^ 



Total 121,000 

The above figures indicate the extent of the 
massacres mentioned. The following extracts reveal 
the occasion and manner in which they were carried 
out. 

The first extract is in regard to the Greeks, and is 
a translation, by Mr. Robert Stein, from the French: 

" The blow had been long premeditated. Sultan 
Mahmoud was in the habit of replying to every suc- 
cess of the Greek insurgents by ordering massacres, 

^ Latham, Russian and Turk, p. 417. London : W. H. Allen, 
1878. 

^ Layard's Nineveh. 

' Colonel Churchill, Druses atid Maronites, p. 219. London : 
Quaritch, 1S62. 

^Eugene Schuyler and Correspondent MacGahan, quoted in Th( 
Independent, January 10, 1895. 

5 Chapter I. of this book. 



Previous Acts of the Turkish Tragedy, 97 

violations, and enslavement in regions without de- 
fense, where there were none but women, children, 
and inoffensive merchants. After the first exploit of 
Kanaris, the quiet commercial town of Cydonia had 
promptly been burnt. The Turkish admiral was 
beaten at Samos ; for that reason thirty days were 
spent in Cyprus in cutting off heads. The town of 
Tripolitza, in the Morea, having been taken by the 
Palikares, the inhabitants of Cassandra, in Thrace, 
were given up to bands of Arnauts. The Sultan 
wished to take new reprisals to terrify the ray as 
[Christian subjects], and to cause the nations of 
Europe to reflect. He took care not to fix his choice 
on Crete, where his nizams would ha\;e been received 
with gunshots. Chios was an easy prey, and sus- 
pected nothing, having always lived on good terms 
with the Porte, and having even refused to take part 
in the insurrection of Hellas and the islands. The 
Chiotes had always been the gentlest, the most 
docile, the most timid of all the rayas. The secret 
societies which endeavored to rouse the Greek people 
had not even deigned to initiate these islanders in 
their projects of national resurrection. On the 8th of 
May, 1 82 1, the intrepid Tombasis, with fifteen brigs 
from Hydra and ten schooners from Psara, had ap- 
peared before the island, and his patriotic advances 
having been ill received, he had retired. The in- 
habitants of Chios, in order to give new guaranties 
of submission, had sent to the Turks large amounts 
of money, numerous hostages, and all their arms : 
even the little knives with which they cut their bread 
had been taken from them. 
7 



98 The Crisis i7i Turkey, 

"At this moment, on Easter Day, 1822, the Capi- 
tan-Pasha anchored in the harbor, with seven ships 
and eight frigates. Inasmuch as many of the people, 
frightened by the sight of this fleet, had fled to the 
mountains, they were made to come down by promises 
of safety, and by sending to them some consuls, who 
were simple enough to lend themselves in good faith 
to this ignoble fraud. The Turkish admiral brought 
his executioners with him ; bashi-basouks from 
Rumelia, Zeibeks and Yuruks from Asia Minor, the 
most ferocious and cowardly to be found in the 
empire. The adventurers had come in great num- 
bers, eager for their prey, attracted by this country, 
so rich in harvests, in gold coins, and in women. On 
the day fixed for this surprise all this rabble was 
crowded into boats, with pistols and knives, and the 
carnage began. Whole regiments courageously be- 
sieged villages containing three hundred souls. For 
many of them, this slaughter was a great joke, a 
gigantic bakshish. They slashed and burned ,all day ; 
in the evening they reckoned up the price of the 
slaves, the sheep, the goats, all huddled together 
pell-mell in the profaned churches. The children and 
the women escaped death; their youth and beauty 
saved them from the massacre, to deliver them over 
at once to outrageous assaults or to reserve them for 
the shameful fate of the harem. They were led ofl" 
in long troops ; they were put on the market and sold 
in the bazaars of Smyrna, Constantinople, and Brussa 
Whatever resisted was killed without mercy. At 
Mesta, a young girl cried and struggled against an 
Arnaut ; the madman seized her loosened hair. 



Previous Acts of the Turkish Tragedy, 99 

turned back the collar, and with a cut of his sabre 
severed the pretty head. The person who described 
this scene to me saw it with his own eyes." * 

In regard to the massacre of Nestorians in 1850, 
Layard states that after 9000 had been massacred, 
" 1000 men, women, and children concealed them- 
selves in a mountain fastness. Beder Khan Beg, an 
officer of rank in the employment of the Sultan, un- 
able to get at them, surrounded the place, and 
waited until they should be compelled to yield by 
thirst and hunger. Then he offered to spare their 
lives on the surrender of their arms and property, 
terms ratified by an oath on the Koran. The Kurds 
were then admitted to the platform. After they 
had disarmed their prisoners they commenced an in- 
discriminate slaughter, until, weary of using their 
weapons, they hurled the few survivors from the 
rocks into the river Zab below. Out of nearly 1000 
only one escaped," "^ 

In regard to the massacre of Maronites and Syri- 
ans in i860, the anonymous authority in The Inde- 
pendent goes on to say : 

"After the massacre of June and July, i860, in 
Lebanon and Damascus, under the direction of 
Tahir Pasha in Deir el Komr, Osman Beg in Has- 
beiya, Kurshid Pasha in Lebanon, and Ahmed Pasha 
in Damascus, a conference was held in Paris, August 
3d, by the representatives of Great Britain, Austria, 
France, Prussia, Russia, and Turkey. As 11,000 

^ M. Gaston Deschamps : "En Turquie — LI'le de Chio," Revue 
des Deux Mondes, p. 167, January I, 1893. 
2 Layard's Nineveh, pp. 24-201. 



TOO The Crisis in Turkey, 

Christians had been massacred, the European rep- 
resentatives called the attention of the Sultan to his 
promise in the Treaty of Paris, March 30, 1856, 
' that serious administrative measures should be 
taken to ameliorate the condition of the Christian 
population of every sect in the Ottoman Empire/ 
. . . And then, in the presence and with the con- 
sent of the five aforesaid Christian representatives, 
assembled together for the express purpose of taking 
measures to stop the effusion of Christian blood in 
Syria, caused by the wicked and wilful collusion of 
the Sultan's authorities, the following insult to the 
common sense, the feelings, and judgment of Chris- 
tian Europe was deliberately penned : ' The Pleni- 
potentiary of the Sublime Porte takes note of this 
declaration of the representatives of the high con- 
tracting Powers, and undertakes to transmit it to his 
court, pointing out that the Sublime Porte has em- 
ployed, and continues to employ, her efforts in the sense 
of the wish expressed above ! ' " (Churchill, pp. 220, 
221.) 

Colonel Churchill further says (p. 222) : 
" Nejib Pasha, who was installed Governor of the 
Pashalick of Damascus on the restoration of Syria to 
the Sultan in 1840, declared to a confidential agent 
of the British Consul in that city, not knowing, how- 
ever, the character of the person he was addressing, 
'the Turkish Government can only maintain its 
supremacy in Syria by cutting down the Christian 
sects.' What Nejib Pasha enounced as a theory, 
Kurshid Pasha, after an interval of twenty years, 
succeeded in carrying into practice," 



Previous Acts of the Turkish Tragedy, loi 

The writer in The Indepefident adds : 

" Thus we have Nejib Pasha in 1840, Beder Khan 
in 1850, Kurshid Pasha in i860, Chefket Pasha in 
1876, and Zekki Pasha in 1894, concurring in this 
noble and philanthropic scheme for relieving the 
Turkish Empire of its surplus Christian population ! " 

The following facts relate to the terrible atrocities 
perpetrated in Bulgaria by Turkish bashi-bazouks in 
the spring of 1876. I quote verbatim from the pre- 
liminary report * of the Hon. Eugene Schuyler, Amer- 
ican Consul-General, to the Hon. Horace Maynard, 
the American Minister, at Constantinople : 

" Philippopolis, A^ugust 10, 1876. 

" Sir: — In reference to the atrocities and massacres 
committed by the Turks in Bulgaria, I have the 
honor to inform you that I have visited the towns 
of Adrianople, Philippopolis, and Tatar-Bazardjik, 
and villages in the surrounding districts. From 
what I have personally seen, and from the inquiries 
I have made, and the information I have received, I 
have ascertained the following facts : . . . 

" The insurgent villages made little or no resist- 
ance. In many instances they surrendered their 
arms upon the first demand. Nearly all the villages 
which were attacked by the bashi-bazouks were 
burned and pillaged, as were also all those which 
had been abandoned by the terrified inhabitants. 
The inhabitants of some villages were massacred 
after exhibitions of the most ferocious cruelty, and 
the violation not only of women and girls, but even 
of persons of the other sex. These crimes were 
* Article by Mr, Savage, The Independent^ January 10, 1894. 



I02 The Crisis in Turkey, 

committed by the regular troops as well as by the 
bashi-bazoiiks [irregulars]. The number of villages 
which were burned in whole or in part in the districts 
of Philippopolis, Roptchus, and Tatar-Bazardjik is at 
least sixty-five. 

" Particular attention was given by the troops to 
the churches and schools, which in some cases were 
destroyed with petroleum and gunpowder. 

" It is difficult to estimate the number of Bul- 
garians who were killed during the few days that 
the disturbances lasted ; but I am inclined to put 
15,000 as the lowest for the districts I have named. 
. . . This village surrendered, without firing a 
shot, after a promise of safety, to the basJii-bazouks^ 
under command of Ahmed Aga, a chief of the rural 
police. Despite his promise, the arms once sur- 
rendered, Ahmed Aga ordered the destruction of 
the village and the indiscriminate slaughter of the 
inhabitants, about a hundred young girls being re- 
served to satisfy the lust of the conqueror before 
they too should be killed. Not a house is now 
standing in this lovely valley. Of the 8000 inhabi- 
tants not 2000 are known to survive. 

" Ahmed Aga, who commanded the massacre, has 
since been decorated and promoted to the rank of 
yuz bashi [centurian]. 

" These atrocities were clearly unnecessary for the 
suppression of the insurrection, for it was an insig- 
nificant rebellion at the best, and the villagers gen- 
erally surrendered at the first summons. 
" I am, sir, yours very truly, 

*' Eugene Schuyler. 

** The Hon. Horace Maynard, etc." 



Previous Acts of the Turkish Tragedy, 103 

" The British Government had glossed over and 
tried to cover up these horrible transactions, Premier 
Disraeli turning them off with a sneer. The facts, as 
unearthed by Consul Schuyler, shook the British 
nation like an earthquake, and came near unseating 
the Ministry. . . . 

*' A similar investigation was made in the same dis- 
trict by Mr. J. A. MacGahan, the brilliant correspond- 
ent of the London Daily Nezvs, who confirms all 
that Mr. Schuyler discovered, in a special despatch 
to the Daily News, dated Philippopolis, July 28, 
1876.", 

The circumstances and character of the Armenian 
massacre of 1894 are found in the first chapter of the 
present volume. In regard to this event the writer 
in The Independent of January 17th above quoted 
asks : 

'' Will history repeat itself in 1895 ? Will the 
remaining Armenians of Sassoun be so terrorized as 
to refuse to testify before a Commission ? Un- 
doubtedly. 

" If the facts already known do not force Europe to 
place Eastern Asia Minor under a Christian Viceroy 
there is little hope that any new facts will influence 
them. The dead tell no tales. The living fear to 
speak, lest they fall victims to the humane theories 
of Beder Khan and Nejib Pasha. 

" Will England now insist upon the protection of 
the Christian ? She is morally bound to. Four 
times has she saved the Ottoman Empire from de- 
struction, and the civiHzed world looks to her for a 
fulfilment of her high mission in the East. 



I04 The Crisis in Turkey 

" May British public opinion compel British public 
men to action ! " 

To make this chapter a little more complete for 
reference, I add a passing allusion to three other 
outrages not included in the above list, which takes 
account of no massacres of less than ten thousand 
victims at once. 

OUTRAGES IN CRETE IN 1866-7. 

On July 21, 1867, the British, Russian, French, and 
Italian Consuls at Canea, Crete, sent the following 
identical telegram to their several governments : 
" Massacres of women and children have broken out 
in the interior of the island. The authorities can 
neither put down the insurrection nor stay the 
course of these atrocities. Humanity would impera- 
tively demand the immediate suspension of hostili- 
ties, or the transportation to Greece of the women 
and children." 

The number of relieving ships sent to Crete in 
obedience to this accord was four French, three 
Russian, two Italian, three Austrian, and one Prus- 
sian/ 

OUTRAGES IN ARMENIA IN 1877. 

The writer is C. B. Norman, special correspondent 
of The London Times, who says in his preface : 

" In my correspondence to the Times I made it 
a rule to report nothing but what came under 
my own personal observation, or facts confirmed by 
European evidence. 

^ U. S. Consul Stillman's The Cretan Insurrection of 1866-7-8, 
Henry Holt (S: Co., 1874. 



Previous Ads of the Turkish Tragedy. 105 

'' A complete list it is impossible for me to obtain, 
but from all sides — from Turk and Armenian alike — 




A HIGHWAY IN ARMENIA. 



I hear piteous tales of the desolation that reigns 
throughout Kurdistan — villages deserted, towns 
abandoned, trade at a standstill, harvest ready for 
the sickle, but none to gather it in, husbands mourn- 
ing their dishonored wives, parents their murdered 
children ; and this is not the work of a power whose 
policy of selfish aggression no man can defend, but 
the ghastly acts of Turkey's irregular soldiery on 
Turkey's most peaceable inhabitants, — acts the per- 
petrators of which are well known, and yet are 
allowed to go unpunished. . . . 

" A bare recital of the horrors committed by these 
demons is sufficient to call for their condign punish- 



io6 The Crisis in Turkey, 

ment. The subject is too painful to need any color- 
ing, were my feeble pen enabled to give it." 

A few, out of many cases reported by Mr. Norman 
are given : 

'■' This gang also attacked the village of Kordjotz, 
violating the women, and sending off all the virgins 
to their hills; entering the church they burned the 
Bible and sacred pictures ; placing the communion- 
cup on the altar, they in turn defiled it, and divided 
the church plate amongst themselves. . . . 

"■ Sheik Obaidulah's men rivalled their comrades 
under the flag of Jelaludeen ; these latter operated 
between Van and Faik Pasha's camp. They at- 
tacked and robbed the villages of Shakbabgi and 
Adnagantz, carrying off all boys and virgins. At 
Kushartz they did the same, and killing 500 sheep, 
left them to rot in the streets, and then fired the 
place. Khosp, Jarashin, and Asdvadsadsan, Bog- 
hatz, and Aregh suffered in like manner ; the 
churches were despoiled and desecrated, graves dug 
up, young of both sexes carried off, what grain they 
could not transport was destroyed, and the inhabi- 
tants driven naked into the fields, to gaze with horror 
on their burning homesteads."^ 

THE MASSACRE OF THE YEZIDIS NEAR MOSUL, 1892. 

" The Yezldis are a remnant of a heathen sect, who 
have never been converted to the Moslem faith. 
'' Their holy place is not far from the city of Mo- 

^ C. B. Norman, Arfnenia and the Campaign of i8yy, pp. 293— 
298. London: Cassell. Fetter, & Galpin, 1879, 



Previous Acts of the Turkish Tragedy, 107 

sul, one day's journey, and their principal villages 
are also close by. In the summer of 1892 the Sultan 
sent a special officer, called Ferik Pasha, to Mosul to 
correct certain abuses in the government, to collect 
all back taxes, and to convert the Yezidis. His 
authority was absolute, the Vali Pasha of the city 
being subject to his orders. 

" In reference to his work among the Yezidis, he, it 
was generally reported, was to get a certain sum per 
capita for every convert made. 

" He first sent priests among them to convert them 
to the " true faith." They not succeeding, he very 
soon gave them the old alternative of the Koran or 
the sword. Still not submitting, he sfent his soldiers, 
under command of his son, who put to the sword all 
who, not able to escape, refused to accept Moham- 
med. Their villages were burned, many were 
killed in cold blood, some were tortured, women 
and young girls were outraged or carried off to 
harems, and other atrocities, too horrible to relate, 
were perpetrated. 

" Those who escaped made their way to the moun- 
tains of Sinjar, where, together with their brethren 
of the mountains, they intrenched themselves and 
successfully defended themselves until the spring of 
1893 against the government troops which had been 
sent against them. 

" This massacre was reported to the French Gov- 
ernment by M. Siouffi, Consul at that time in Mosul, 
and to the English Government by Mr. Parry, who 
was in that region under the instructions of the 
Archbishop of Canterbury. 



io8 The Crisis in Turkey. 

" The Yezidis who remained in their villages on 
the plain had Moslem priests set over them to in- 
struct them in the Moslem faith. They were com- 
pelled to attend prayers and nominally become 
Mohammedans ; but in secret they practised their 
own rites and declared that they were still Yezidis." ' 

After the massacre of the Yezidi peasants in 1892 
an English lady of rank, visiting Mosul, was refused 
permission by the Pasha to travel through the 
Yezidi district, lest she witness the dreadful results 
of the massacre.'' 

The writer in TJie Independent of January 31st, 
gives this explanation : 

" The reason of the recurrence of massacres in 
Turkey is the fanatical intolerance of the Moslem 
populace and their hatred to Christianity, unre- 
strained and often fomented by Turkish officials. 

*' Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, the ablest and best 
friend Turkey ever had, who believed that ' England 
should befriend Turkey in order to reform her,' 
says : ^ 

" ' Turkey is weak, fanatical, and misgoverned. 
The Eastern question is a fact, a reality of indefinite 
duration. Like a volcano it has intervals of rest ; 
but its outbreaks are frequent, their occasions un- 
certain, and their effects destructive ' (p. 6). 

'"Did not the massacres in Syria in i860 come 
upon us by surprise? . . . Have we any substantial 
security against the recurrence of similar horrors, of 
a similar necessity, and of a similar hazard ? * (p. 79). 

* The Independent^ January 17, 1895. 

* Ibid,^ January 31, 1895. ^ The Eastern Question, 









i^mm 



p4 

5 

< 
< 



smm^ 



Previous Acts of the Turkish Tragedy, 109 

" ' The position of the Ottoman Empire is one of 
natural determination toward a state of exhaustive 
weakness ' (p. 97). 

'' ' 111 fares the country where neither strong hand 
nor willing heart is to be found ' (p. 104). 

** A joint Commission is now eit route to investigate 
the Sassoun massacres. Will any good come from it ? 
Doubtful. Lord Stratford says (p. 117) : 

" ' We know not how soon or where the kites may 
be again collected by a massacre or insurrection. 
. . . Such occasional meetings [of Commis- 
sions] have their portion of inconvenience and risk. 
Their failure is discreditable ; the effect of their suc- 
cess, at best, transient and partial. The evils they 
are meant to correct are themselves the offspring of 
one pervading evil, the source of which is in Con- 
stantinople.' " 



CHAPTER VIII. 
ISLAM AS A FACTOR OF THE PROBLEM. 

IT is with reluctance that I approach this side of 
the question. It is not desirable that the sub- 
ject be complicated or embittered by religious 
animosities. But unfortunately these animosities do 
exist and have always formed a primary and essential 
feature in all the relations of the Turks with their 
Christian subjects. A writer who styles himself 
" Diplomatist," in a recent review article of consider- 
able merit/ with a stroke of the pen, disposes of this 
phase of the subject by characterizing it as " pure 
moonshine." But real diplomatists do not find it so 
easy to dispose of, nor do the great historians treat 
it as moonshine. The fanatical gleam that I have 
often caught in the eye of Turks and Kurds was 
never suggestive to me of the mild rays of the lunar 
orb, but seemed rather like a gleam from the political 
Crescent, whose baleful influence dominates the East. 
The question is not concerning the merits of 
Mohammed or of Mohammedanism in the abstract. 
I have a profound respect for the Prophet of Arabia, 
who might have been another Apostle Paul, but for 
the fact that the corrupt church of ti^at day failed 

* New Review for January, 1*95. 

no 



Islam as a Factor of the Problem. 1 1 1 

to give that young and ardent seeker after God a true 
and worthy conception of Christianity. I would fain 
admit the high conception of the Mohammedan ideal, 
portrayed so skilfully by Mr. R. Bosworth Smith in 
his lectures before the Royal Institution of Great 
Britain. 

But such considerations are irrelevant to the present 
discussion, which is simply, What are the practical 
bearings of Islam upon the question of reform or of 
reconstruction in Turkey? 

As has been already shown in Chapter VI., the 
Ottoman Government is a politico-religious system, 
This is the necessary constitution of any Moham- 
medan sovereign state, but the coiiception ha? 
special force and vitality in Turkey, whose Sovereign 
claims to be the successor of Mohammed, and thus 
the Calif of the Mohammedan world. The whole 
fabric of the Turkish Empire rests on a religious 
foundation. This rehgious foundation is not the 
general religious principle in man, but the particular 
form of religion established by Mohammed. 

To what extent, now, does Islam enter into the 
poHtical structure.? We find on investigation that 
it is part and parcel of the bone and sinew of the 
organism in Turkey called the State,— called so by 
courtesy on account of its faint analogy to what is 
understood in other countries by that name. The 
Turkish arm.y is exclusively a Mohammedan army, 
the national festivals are Mohammedan festivals, the 
official calendar is a Mohammedan calendar, both as 
to year and month, the laws are based on the Koran 
and Mohammedan tradition, the expounders of the 



112 The Crisis in Turkey, 

law are Mohammedan judges, and even testimony is 
a religious act of which only true believers are, in the 
nature of the case, capable. It is not denied that 
the testimony of Christians is allowed to be given 
in Turkish courts, but that does not signify that it is 
valid evidence in the eyes of the Court, especially 
when a Mohammedan is involved. Even the differ- 
ent formulae used show this. In the case of a 
Mohammedan it is, '' His Lordship, So and So, testi- 
fied to the face of God "; in the case of a Christian 
it is, " Mr. Blank stated." 

In Article 63 of the Treaty of Berlin we read 
Turkey's solemn (it is hard to suppress a smile) 
promise to the European Powers in regard to the 
rights of Christians before the law: ^^ All shall be 
allowed to give evidenee before the courts without dis- 
tinctions of creeds The practical application of the 
above clause is shown in the official reports of 
British Consuls.^ 

Mr. Wilson, Consul-General in Anatolia, writes : 
*' In the greater portion of Anatolia, though Chris- 
tian evidence may be received, no weight is attached 
to it. When Moslem and Christian evidence are op- 
posed to each other, the latter is disregarded. For 
instance, three Christians are travelling along a road, 
and one of them is robbed by a man well known to 
all of them ; in the action which ensues, the robber 
has only to prove an alibi by two Moslem false wit- 
nesses to gain his case." 

^ These extracts are from Blue-Book, Turkey, No. 8 (1881), pp. 57- 
iio, as quoted by the high authority, M. Rolin-Jaequemyns, in his 
Armenia, the Armenians, and the Treaties, pp. 74-76. London : 
John Heywood, 1 891 



Islam as a Factor of the Problem, 1 1 3 

Mr. Chermslde, Vice-Consul at Sivas, writes : 

"As regards the acceptance of Christian testimony, 
theoretically is it accepted in all Nizam courts. 
Hearing testimony, however, and attaching the rela- 
tive importance to it that, from its tenor and con- 
sistency, it is entitled to, are very different matters ; 
and there is no doubt that, especially in civil cases, 
tradition, sympathy, and education prejudice the 
Hakim'' against it — sentimental considerations, how- 
ever, are not proof against the love of gain." 

According to the latter part of this quotation, the 
spirit which animates the courts of Asia Minor may 
be defined as fanaticism tempered by corruption. 
The following is the opinion of Mr. JEverett, Vice- 
Consul at Erzerum : '' The first consideration of the 
administrators of justice is the amount of money 
that can be extorted from an individual, and the sec- 
ond is his creed." The only doubt as to the morality 
of the Turkish magistrates appears to be whether 
they are more corrupt than fanatical, or more fanati- 
cal than corrupt. 

The injustice done to Christians even in commer- 
cial transactions is shown by Mr. BllottI, Consul at 
Trebizond : 

" Christian evidence is accepted in the town of 
Trebizond, but I am assured in the districts, that 
though the same principle is admitted, no Mussul- 
man has ever been condemned on the testimony of 
Christians ; so much so, that the latter are in the 

^ The Hakim, who is a member of the religious body of Ulemas, 
presides over the lower court (Bidayet), which is to be found iu every 
caza (hundred), and also over the Sandjak or district court. 



114 '^^^ Crisis in Turkey, 

habit of having their bonds witnessed only by 
Mussulmans." 

Much is said in regard to the truthfulness of the 
Turks. Consul-General Wilson writes : *' From the 
peculiar value of Moslem evidence, most of the false 
witnesses are Turks." 

As a matter of fact, we thus see that the millions 
of Christians in Turkey neither are nor can be con- 
sidered and treated as citizens of the state, simply 
because they do not belong to the religion of the 
foreign invaders who rule them. No degree of 
loyalty can secure for non-Moslems admission to the 
army. Christians are rapidly being excluded from 
even the humblest positions in the civil lists also, 
except from such as Mohammedans are incompetent 
to fill. The status of the Christian before the law is 
that of an alien in regard to his own rights, and of a 
slave as far as the interests of Mohammedans are 
concerned. 

And yet we are told that the Ottoman Turks are 
tolerant of the members of other faiths. This is true 
in the same sense that the stomach is spoken of as 
being "■ tolerant " of certain easily digestible articles 
of food. Yes, so long as Christians submit to all 
forms of oppression, and make no claims in regard 
to rights which are generally supposed to belong to 
all men, they are gladly tolerated. 

That the discrimination against Christian subjects 
is due to their religious belief, is, further, clearly 
shown by the fact that Mohammedans, who abandon 
the creed of the government, immediately forfeit 
their special privileges, and even incur punishment 



Islam as a Factor of the Problem, 115 

as criminals. Apostacy from Islam is treason to the 
Sultan. Converts to Christianity are arrested and 
imprisoned. In the rare instances when foreign gov- 
ernments venture to inquire into such cases, the 
Ottoman authorities blandly insist that they care 
nothing for the man's religion, but that he must be 
arrested for " avoiding conscription," or on some 
other fictitious charge. He is, thereupon, hurried off 
to some distant military post, or finds a living grave 
in an unknown dungeon. 

Such is the politico-religious organization called 
the Ottoman Government. Can this union of Church 
and State be dissolved ? It can not be. The bond 
which unites them, according to Mohammedan doc- 
tors, is vital, as in the case of the Siamese twins. 

Inasmuch as the bond cannot be cut, the only re- 
maining hope must be in improving the health of 
the two bodies thus indissolubly united. Unfortu- 
nately, no change can be hoped for in the case of 
either part of this dual patient. Mohammedanism at 
its birth was a ^malformation, to say the least, and 
will continue so even though restored to a state of 
perfect health. In the opinion of every orthodox 
Mohammedan, the Koran is a " perfect revelation of 
the will of God, sufficient and final," and '' Islam 
is a separate distinct, and absolutely exclusive 
religion." 

As attempts are frequently made to convey a con- 
trary impression on this point, I quote the words of 
President George Washburn, of Robert College, 
Constantinople, an impartial student of Islam, who 
for thirty-five years has observed its practical work- 



1 1 6 The Crisis in Turkey, 

ings in the Ottoman Empire. At the World's Par- 
liament of Religions, in Chicago, 1893, he read a 
paper on " The Points of Contact and Contrast 
between Christianity and Mohammedanism:" His 
whole treatment is remarkable for its judicial fair- 
ness, and his paper is commended to the reader 
who may desire a brief, comprehensive, and fair 
estimate of Islam. 

To the question whether Mohammedanism has 
been in any way modified, since the time of the 
Prophet, by its contact with Christianity, Dr. Wash- 
burn thinks that every orthodox Moslem would 
answer in the negative. He adds : "■ It is very im- 
portant to bear in mind that there are nominal 
Mohammedans w^ho are theists, and others who are 
pantheists of the Spinoza type. There are also 
some small sects who are rationalists, but after the 
fashion of old English Deism rather than of the 
modern rationalism. The Deistic rationalism is 
represented in that most interesting work of Justice 
Ameer Ali, The Spirit of Islam, He speaks of ]\Io- 
hammed as Xenophon did of Socrates, and he 
reveres Christ also, but he denies that there was 
anything supernatural in the inspiration or lives of 
either, and claims that Hanife and the other Imams 
corrupted Islam, as he thinks Paul the apostle did 
Christianity; but this book does not represent Mo- 
hammedanism, any more than Renan's Life of Jesus 
represents Christianity. These small rationalistic 
sects are looked upon by all orthodox Moslems as 
heretics of the worst description." 

Although the Scriptures of the Old and New 




o 

w. 
n 
o 
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o 

o 

w. 
u 

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o 
a 

o 

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Islam as a Factor of the Problem, 117 

Testaments happen to be mentioned one hundred 
and thirty-one times in the Koran, they are only 
quoted twice. The fundamental doctrines of Chris- 
tianity, such as the Incarnation, the Trinity, the 
Atonement, and the Resurrection of Christ are 
specifically repudiated in the Koran. 

The reform of Islam as a system is, therefore, not 
within the range of possibility. How about the 
reform of the Ottoman Government ? On this point 
I yield the floor to the great historian E. A. Free- 
man, who will close the debate * : 

" There are some people who say the Turks are 
no doubt very bad, but that the Christians are just 
as bad, and have done things just as* cruel. Now, as 
a matter of fact, this is not true ; and, if it were true, 
it would be another reason for setting the Christians 
free ; for if they are as bad as the Turk, it is the 
Turk who has caused their badness. While other 
nations have been improving, the Turk has kept 
them from improving. Take away the Turk who 
hinders improvement, and they will improve like the 
others. The slave never has the virtues of a free- 
man ; it is only by setting him free that he can get 
them. 

*' When we point out the evils of the rule of the 
Turk, some people tell us that Christian rulers in 
past times have done things quite as bad as the 
Turks. This is partly true, but not wholly. No 
Christian government has ever gone on for so long a 
time ruling as badly as the Turk has ruled. But it 
is true that Christian governments have in past times 
* The Turks in Europe, 



1 1 8 The Crisis in Turkey, 

done particular acts, which were as bad as the acts 
of the Turks. But this argument, too, cuts the 
other way ; for Christian governments have left off 
doing such acts, while the Turks go on doing them 
still. The worst Christian government is better now 
than it was one hundred years ago, or five hundred 
years ago. The rule of the Turk is worse now than 
it was one hundred years ago, or five hundred years 
ago. That is to say, the worst Christian government 
can reform, while the Turk cannot. 

" It is sometimes said that we ought not to set 
free the Christians for fear that they should do some 
harm to the Mohammedans who would be left in 
their land. Now, if the question were really put, 
Shall a minority of oppressors go on oppressing the 
people of the land, or shall the majority of the people 
of the land turn round and oppress the minority 
who have hitherto oppressed them ? — this last would 
surely be the lesser evil of the two. But there is no 
ground for any such fear. No one wishes to hurt 
any Mohammedan who will live peaceably and not 
hurt Christians. No one wishes that any man, 
merely because he is a Mohammedan, should be in 
any way worse off than a Christian, or be put under 
any disability as compared with a Christian. There is 
no reason why he should be. For the Mohammedan 
religion, though it does not command that Christians 
shall be persecuted, does command that Christians 
shall be treated as subjects of Mohammedans. But 
the Christian religion in no way commands that 
Mohammedan shall be treated as the subject of 
Christian. Christians and Mohammedans cannot 



Islam as a Factor of the Problem, 119 

live together on equal terms under a Mohammedan 
government, because the Mohammedan reHgion 
forbids that they should ; but Mohammedans 
and Christians may perfectly well live together 
under a Christian government. They do so under 
the governments both of England and of Russia. 
The few Mohammedans who are left in Greece 
and in Servia are in no way molested ; there 
are mosques both at Chalkis and at Belgrade. But 
it is foolish to argue, as some people do, that because 
men of different religions can live together under a 
Christian government, therefore they can live to- 
gether under a Mohammedan government ; for both 
reason and the nature of the Mohammedan religion 
prove that it is not so. . . . 

" The Turk came in as an alien and barbarian en- 
camped on the soil of Europe. At the end of five 
hundred years, he remains an alien and barbarian 
encamped on soil which he has no more made his 
own than it was when he first took Kallipolis. His 
rule during all that time has been the rule of 
strangers over enslaved nations in their own 
land. It has been the rule of cruelty, faith- 
lessness, and brutal lust ; it has not been govern- 
ment, but organized brigandage. His rule cannot 
be reformed. While all other nations get better and 
better, the Turk gets worse and worse. And when 
the chief powers of Europe join in demanding that 
he should make even the smallest reform, he impu- 
dently refuses to make any. If there was anything 
to be said for him before the late Conference, there 
is nothing to be said for him now. For an evil 



I20 



The Crisis in Turkey, 



which cannot be reformed, there is one remedy only 
— to get rid of it. Justice, reason, humanity, de- 
mand that the rule of the Turk in Europe should be 
got rid of ; and the time for getting rid of it has now- 
come." 




ARMENIAN REBELS WHO WOULD NOT PAY TAXES. 



This was written seventeen years ago with refer- 
ence to the discontinuance of the Ottoman power in 
Europe. Does it not now apply with equal force to 
the discontinuance of the same regime in Armenia? 



CHAPTER IX. 

GLADSTONE ON THE ARMENIAN MASSACRE 
AND ON TURKISH MISRULE. 

ON the eighty-fifth anniversary of Mr. W. E. 
Gladstone's birth, December 29, 1 894, a 
deputation of members of the National 
Church of Armenia presented to his son, the Rev. 
Stephen Gladstone, rector of Hawarden, a silver gilt 
chalice for the use of the church, in memory of the 
ex-Premier's sympathy with and assistance to the 
Armenian people. On that occasion Mr. Gladstone 
made a long and eloquent speech, in the course of 
which — after thanking the deputation for their 
token of sympathy and their grateful references to 
himself — he said : 

" Well, Mr. Stevenson — I address myself now per- 
haps more particularly to you and to my own coun- 
trymen, to any of them who will take notice of the 
deputation. I have said that in my opinion this 
manifestation from the Armenian community in 
England and in Paris was, on my part at least, quite 
undeserved. I have done nothing for you in circum- 
stances of great difficulty, and that, let me assure 
you, has not been owing to indifference. I will explain 
the cause in very few words. Rumors went abroad, 
growing more and more authenticated, which repre- 

I2Z 



122 The Crisis in Turkey, 

sented a state of horrible and indescribable outrage 
in Armenia. The impulse of every man in circum- 
stances of that kind is to give way to a burst of 
strong feeling, but I had the conviction that in a 
grave case of this kind every nation is best and most 
properly represented by its government, which is the 
organ of the nation, and which has the right to speak 
with the authority of the nation. 

*' And do not let me be told that one nation has no 
authority over another. Every nation, and if need be 
every human being, has authority on behalf of hu- 
manity and of justice. (Hear, hear.) These are prin- 
ciples common to mankind, and the violation of which 
may justly, at the proper time, open the mouths of the 
very humblest among us. But in such cases as these 
we must endeavor to do injustice to no one, and the 
more dreadful the allegations may be, the more 
strictly it is our duty not to be premature in assum- 
ing their truth, but to wait for an examination of the 
case, and to see that what we say, we say upon a 
basis of ascertained facts. 

" Well, gentlemen, it was, my fate — my fortune, 
I think — about eighteen years ago to take an ac- 
tive part with regard to other outrages w^hich first 
came up in the shape of rumor, but were afterwards 
too horribly verified, in Bulgaria ; but I never 
stirred in regard to those outrages until in the 
first place, their existence and their character had 
been established by indisputable authority ; and, 
secondly, until I had found myself driven to abso- 
lute despair in regard to any hopes that I could en- 
tertain of a proper representation of British feeling 



Gladstone on the Armenian Massacre, 123 

on the part of the government which was then in 
office. You will see, therefore, that my conduct 
on this occasion has not been inconsistent with what 
I then did (hear, hear), and it does not imply, old as 
I am, that my feelings have been deadened in regard 
to matters of such a dreadful description. (Cheers.) 
"Now I remained silent because I had full confi- 
dence that the government of the Queen would do its 
duty, and I still entertain that confidence. Its power 
and influence are considerable ; at the same time they 
are limited. It is not in the power of this country, 
acting singly, to undertake to represent humanity at 
large, and to inflict, even upon the grossest wrong- 
doers, the punishments that their crfmes may have 
deserved ; but there is such a thing as the conscience 
of mankind at large, and the conscience is not lim- 
ited even to Christendom. (Hear, hear.) And there 
is a great power in the collected voice of outraged 
humanity. What happened in Bulgaria ? The Sul- 
tan and his government absolutely denied that any- 
thing wrong had been done. Yes, but their denial 
was shattered by the force of facts. The truth was 
exhibited to the world. It was thought an extrava- 
gance at the time when I said : ' It is time that 
the Turk and all his belongings should go out of 
Bulgaria bag and baggage.* They did go out of 
Bulgaria, and they went out of a good deal besides. 
But, quite independent of any sentiment of right, 
justice, or humanity, common sense and common 
prudence ought to have taught them not to repeat 
the infernal acts which disgraced the year 1876, so 
far as Turkey was concerned. (Cheers.) 



124 ^^^ Crisis in Turkey. 

" Now, it is certainly true that we have not arrived 
at the close of this inquiry, and I will say nothing to 
assume that the allegations will be verified. At the 
same time I cannot pretend to say that there is no 
reason to anticipate an unfavorable issue. On the con- 
trary, the intelligence which has reached me tends to a 
conclusion which I still hope may not be verified, 
but tends strongly to a conclusion to the general 
effect that the outrages and the scenes and abomina- 
tions of 1876 in Bulgaria have been repeated in 1894 
in Armenia. As I have said, I hope it is not so, and 
I will hope to the last, but if it is so it is time that 
one general shout of execration, not of men, but of 
deeds, one general shout of execration directed 
against deeds of wickedness, should rise from out- 
raged humanity, and should force itself into the ears 
of the Sultan of Turkey and make him sensible, if 
anything can make him sensible, of the madness of 
such a course. 

''The history of Turkey has been a sad and 
painful history. That race has not been without 
remarkable and even in some cases fine quali- 
ties, but from too many points of view it has been 
a scourge to the world, made use of, no doubt, 
by a wise Providence for the sins of the world. If 
these tales of murder, violation, and outrage be true, 
then it will follow that they cannot be overlooked, 
and they cannot be made light of. I have lived to 
see the Empire of Turkey in Europe reduced to less 
than one half of what it was when I was born, and 
why ? Simply because of its misdeeds — a great record 
written by the hand of Almighty God, in whom the 




DERVISH BEGGARS 



Gladstone on the Armenian Massacre, 125 

Turk, as a Mohammedan, believes, and believes firmly 
— written by the hand of Almighty God against in- 
justice, against lust, against the most abominable 
cruelty ; and if — and I hope, and I feel sure, that the 
government of the Queen will do everything that 
can be done to pierce to the bottom of this mystery, 
and to make the facts known to the world — if, happily 
— I speak hoping against hope — if the reports we have 
read are to be disproved or to be mitigated, then let 
us thank God ; but if, on the other hand, they be 
established, then I say it will more than ever stand 
before the world that there is no lesson, however 
severe, that can teach certain people the duty, the 
prudence, the necessity of observing in some de- 
gree the laws of decency, and of humanity, and of 
justice, and that if allegations such as these are 
established, it will stand as if it were written with 
letters of iron on the records of the world, that such 
a government as that which can countenance and 
cover the perpetration of such outrages is a disgrace 
in the first place to Mahomet, the Prophet whom it 
professes to follow, that it is a disgrace to civilization 
at large, and that it is a curse to mankind. (Cheers.) 
Now, that is strong language. 

" Strong language ought to be used when facts are 
strong, and ought not to be used without strength of 
facts. I have counselled you still to retain and to keep 
your judgment in suspense, but as the evidence grows 
and the case darkens, my hopes dwindle and decline ; 
and as long as I have a voice I hope that voice, upon 
occasions, will be uttered on behalf of humanity and 
truth." (Cheers.) * 

* The London Times ^ Weekly Edition Jan. 14, 1895. 



126 The Crisis in Turkey, 

In a remarkable paper entitled Bulgarian Horrors 
a7idthe Question of the East called forth by the atroc- 
ities in 1876, Mr. Gladstone sums up some of the 
qualities of the Turkish race and of Turkish rule as 
follows : ^ 

** Let me endeavor very briefly to sketch, in the 
rudest outline, what the Turkish race was and what 
it is. It is not a question of Mohammedanism sim- 
ply, but of Mohammedanism compounded with the 
peculiar character of a race. They are not the mild 
Mohammedans of India, nor the chivalrous Saladins 
of Syria, nor the cultured Moors of Spain. They 
were, upon the whole, from the black day when they 
first entered Europe, the one great anti-human speci- 
men of humanity. Wherever they went, a broad 
line of blood marked the track behind them ; and, as 
far as their dominion reached, civilization disap- 
peared from view. They represented everywhere 
government by force as opposed to government by 
law. For the guide of this life they had a relentless 
fatalism ; for its reward hereafter, a sensual paradise. 

"They were, indeed, a tremendous incarnation of 
military power. This advancing curse menaced the 
whole of Europe. It was only stayed — and that not 
in one generation, but in many — by the heroism of 
the European population of those very countries 
part of which form at this moment the scene of war, 
and the anxious subject of diplomatic action. In 
the olden time all Western Christendom sympathized 
with the resistance to the common enemy ; and even 
during the hot and fierce struggles of the Reforma- 

^ Reprinted from The Christian Register ^ Boston, Dec, i, 1894. 



128 The Crisis in Turkey, 

tion there were prayers, if I mistake not, offered up 
in the English churches for the success of the 
emperor — the head of the Roman Cathohc power 
and influence — in his struggles with the Turk. 

'^ But, although the Turk represented force as op- 
posed to law, yet not even a government of force 
can be maintained without the aid of an intellectual 
element such as he did not possess. Hence there 
grew up what has been rare in the history of the 
world, a kind of tolerance in the midst of cruelty, 
tyranny, and rapine. Much of Christian life was 
contemptuously let alone, much of the subordinate 
functions of government was allowed to devolve 
upon the bishops ; and a race of Greeks was attracted 
to Constantinople which has all along made up, in 
some degree, the deficiencies of Turkish Islam in the 
element of mind, and which at this moment provides 
the Porte with its long-known and, I must add, 
highly esteemed ambassador in London. Then 
there have been, from time to time, but rarely, 
statesmen whom we have been too ready to mistake 
for specimens of what Turkey might become, where- 
as they were, in truth, .more like lusus naturcu, on 
the favorable side, — monsters, so to speak, of virtue 
or intelligence. And there were (and are) also, 
scattered through the community, men who were 
not, indeed, real citizens, but yet who have exhibited 
the true civic virtues, and who would have been 
citizens, had there been a true polity around them. 
Besides all this, the conduct of the race has gradually 
been brought more under the eye of Europe, which 
it has lost its power to resist or to defy ; and its 



Gladstone on the Armenian Massacre. 129 

central government, in conforming perforce to many 
of the forms and traditions of civilization, has oc- 
casionally caught something of their spirit. . . . 

'' I entreat my countrymen, upon whom far more 
than perhaps any other people of Europe it depends, 
to require and to insist that our government, which 
has been working in one direction, shall work in the 
other, and shall apply all its vigor to concur with the 
other states of Europe in obtaining the extinction 
of the Turkish executive power in Bulgaria. Let 
the Turks now carry away their abuses In the only 
possible manner — namely, by carrying off themselves. 
Their Zaptiehs and their Mudirs, their Bimbashis 
and their Yuzbachis, their Kaimakap:is and their 
Pashas, — one and all, bag and baggage,— shall, I 
hope, clear out from the province they have desolated 
and profaned. This thorough riddance, this most 
blessed deliverance, is the only reparation we can 
make to the memory of those heaps on heaps of 
dead; to the violated purity alike of matron, of 
maiden, and of child ; to the civilization which has 
been affronted and shamed ; to the laws of God, or, 
if you like, of Allah ; to the moral sense of mankind 
at large. There is not a criminal in a European jail, 
there is not a cannibal in the South Sea Islands, 
whose indignation would not arise and overboil at 
the recital of that which has been done ; which has 
too late been examined, but which remains una- 
venged ; which has left behind all the foul and all 
the fierce passions that produced it ; and which may 
again spring up, in another murderous harvest, from 
the soil soaked and reeking with blood, and in the 
y 



130 The Crisis in Turkey, 

air tainted with every imaginable deed of crime and 
shame. That such things should be done 07tce is a 
damning disgrace to the portion cf our race which 
did them, that a door should be left open for their 
ever-so-bare ly possible repetition would spread that 
shame over the whole} Better, we may justly tell the 
Sultan, almost any inconvenience, difficulty, or loss 
associated with Bulgaria, 

' Than thou reseated in thy place of light, 
The mockery of thy people and their bane.* 

" We may ransack the annals of the world ; but I 
know not what research can furnish us with so por- 
tentous an example of the fiendish misuse of the 
powers established by God ' for the punishment of 
evil-doers, and for the encouragement of them that 
do well.' No government ever has so sinned ; none 
has so proved itself incorrigible in sin, or, which is 
the same, so impotent for reformation. If it be al- 
lowable that the executive power of Turkey should 
renew, at this great crisis, by permission or authority 
of Europe, the charter of its existence in Bulgaria, 
then there is not on record, since the beginnings of 
political society, a protest that man has lodged 
against intolerable misgovernment, or a stroke he has 
dealt at loathsome tyranny, that ought not hence- 
forth forward to be branded as a crime." 

^ And yet England by the Cyprus Convention pledged all her 
resources to keep the door open^ and the repetition thus made possible 
has occurred. Author. 



CHAPTER X. 
WHO ARE THE ARMENIANS? 

THAT a field so rich in possibilities for the student 
of history, ethnology, or language as Armenia 
■ ^ and Kurdistan should have remained as yet so 

Httle explored, is due, no doubt, to three causes^: 
first, the apparent loss of significance of the Armenian 
nation, which now, like Poland, seems but a stranded 
wreck in the stream of history ; second, to her geo- 
graphical isolation and the danger and hardship of 
travel in that region %• third, to the hnguistic 
obstacles to be overcome. 

So little clear and accurate information about the 
Armenians is readily accessible that the following 
brief outhne is offered in the hope of meeting this 
want at the present time. 

History— The Armenian race belongs to the 

1 " Kurdistan abounds in antiquities of the most varied and interest- 
ing character. . . . It may indeed be asserted that there is no 
region of the East at the present day which deserves a more careful 
scrutiny and promises a richer harvest to the antiquarian explorer 
than the lands inhabited by the Kurds from Erzeroum to Kirman- 
shahan."-Major-General H. C. Rawlinson, Efuyc. Britannica, 
article on " Kurdistan." 

2 Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop. Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan 
2 vols. New York : Putnam's, 1891. London : John Murray. 

131 



132 The Crisis in Turkey. 

Japhetic branch of the human family, falHng under the 
same category as the inhabitants of India and Persia, 
who form the Aryans of Asia. The Armenian 
language proves this by its affinity with the Indo- 
Germanic tongues. Their physiognomy and physi- 
cal constitution connect them with the best types of 
Caucasian stock. Their manners and customs, as 
well as their religious beliefs, in heathenism, were 
similar to those of the Assyrians and Chaldeans, of 
the Medes and Persians, and, still later, of the Par- 
thians. 

These people call themselves Haik, after Haig, the 
most celebrated of their ancient kings, and their 
land Haiasdan. Their national legends, fortified in 
their eyes by the Bible, make Haig descend from 
Ashkenaz or Togarmah, children of Gomer, a patri- 
arch of the line of Japhet.^ Foreigners applied to 
them the name Armenians, derived from King Aram, 
said to be a descendant of Haig, who made great 
conquests.^ 

The earliest biblical mention of this land is the 
statement that the ark " rested upon the mountains 
of Ararat," a term which evidently refers to a dis- 
trict rather than a peak.^ Another scriptural allusion 
is in connection with Sennacherib, whose parricidal 
sons are said to have escaped, 681 B. C, "into the 
land of Armenia."* Ezekiel also refers to Armenia 
under the name Togarmah, as furnishing Tyre with 

* Gen. X., 2, 3. 

° Moses of Khorene, History, Bk. i., chap, 12. 

^Gen. viii., 4. 

^Heb. Ararat, 2 Kings xix., 37 ; Isa. xxxvii., 38. 




MOUNTAIN ROAD IN ARMENIA 




HOWLING DERVISH 



Who are the Armenians f 133 

horses and mules, a product for which it is still 
noted.' Tigranes I. is said to have been an ally of 
Cyrus the Great in overthrowing the Babylonians, 
and thus in liberating the Jews after their seventy 
years' captivity, 538 B. C. A foreshadowing of this 
event is probably found in the prophet Jeremiah : 
" Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, 
Minni, and Ashkenaz, ... to make the land of 
Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant." "^ 

In the famous inscriptions of the Achemenidse, at 
Persepolis and at Behistun, the name Armenia is 
found in various forms, and the Armenian tributaries 
march after the Cappadocians to render homage to 
the great king.^ 

Herodotus mentions the absorption of the Ar- 
menian Empire in that of Darius, 514 B. C, and a 
tribute of four hundred talents exacted." 

Xenophon's account of the retreat of the ten 
thousand through this mountainous region, in mid- 
winter, and constantly harassed by enemies, is valua- 
ble, not only as a tribute to the splendid discipline 
and spirit of the Greeks, but for the light which it 
throws upon the ancient Armenians and Kurds, 
whose houses, domestic habits, and employments are 
the same in many respects even at the present day.^ 

Armenia was included in the conquests of Alex- 
ander, and afterwards submitted to the Seleucidae of 



^ Ezek. xxvii., 14; also xxxviii., 6. 
2 Jer. li., 27-29 ; also 1., 9, 41, 42. 

^ Christian Lassen, Die altpersischen Keil-Inschriften von Per^ 
sepolis, Bonn, 1836, pp. 86, 87. 

^History, Bk. iii., chap. 93. ^Anabasis, Bk. iv. 



134 The Crisis in Turkey, 

Syria. In 190 B. C, when Antiochus the Great was 
defeated by Scipio, Armenia revolted under Artaxias, 
who gave refuge to the exiled Hannibal. About 
150 B. C, the great Parthian king, Mithridates I., 
established his brother Valarsaces in Armenia. The 
most celebrated king of this branch of the Arsacid 
family was Tigranes II., who, while aiding Mithri- 
dates of Pontus, w^as defeated by Pompey. After 
this, Tacitus says that the Armenians were almost 
always at war ; with the Romans through hatred, 
and with the Parthians through jealousy.^ Princes 
of this line continued to rule, however, until the 
Arsacidse were driven from the Persian throne by 
the Sassanid Ardashir. Though frequently con- 
quered by the kings of that dynasty, Armenia was 
enabled as often to re-assert her freedom by the help 
of Roman arms. 

When Tiridates embraced Christianity, 276 A. D., 
the struggle became embittered by the introduction 
of a religious element, for the Persians were bigoted 
Zoroastrians. This condition reached a climax when 
the country was divided between the Romans and 
Persians, under Theodosius the Great, 390 A. D. 

After the fall of the Sassanidae, in the seventh cen- 
tury, Armenia was divided between the Greek Em- 
pire and the Saracens ; but from 859 to 1045 ^^ was 
again ruled by a native dynasty of vigorous princes, 
the Pagratidae. This was brought to a close by the 
suspicious and short-sighted policy of the Byzantine 
emperors, one of whom, Constantine IX., at last 
overthrew the Armenian kingdom, thereby laying 

^Annales^ Bk. ii., ch. 56. 




AN ARMENT.AN TOMBSTONE OF A.D. 934. 

^v/denee of a high state of art. 
135 



136 The Crisis in Turkey, 

open the whole eastern frontier to the invasion of 
the Seljouk Turks, who shortly before had begun 
their attacks, and who might have been successfully 
resisted by these hardy mountaineers. The result 
was fatal, both to Armenia, which was overrun, and 
to the Greek Empire ; for by the battle of Manzikert, 
1071 A. D., when Romanus IV. was defeated and 
made prisoner by Alp Arslan, the whole of Asia 
Minor was left at the mercy of the Seljouks.^ 

Rupen, a relative of the last Pagratid sovereign, 
escaped into Cilicia, and estabhshed the Rupenian 
dynasty, which was not extinguished until the 
death of Leon VI., 1393, an exile in Paris, and the 
last of the Armenian kings. The Rupenians had 
entered into alliance with the Crusaders. They wel- 
comed the Mongolian hordes under Genghis Khan, 
early in the thirteenth century, and suffered the 
vengeance of the Mamelukes, 1375. 

A graphic account of the cruelties of Timour the 
Tartar, who devastated Armenia at the close of the 
fourteenth century, has been left us by Thomas of 
Medzop. The last great calamity which fell upon 
the mother country happened in 1605, when Shah 
Abbas forcibly transplanted twelve thousand families 
to Ispahan in Persia. 

The Armenian Church. — It is the oldest of all 
national churches. Their legends claim that our Lord 
corresponded with King Abgarus of Edessa or Ur, 
and that the apostles Thaddaeus and Bartholomew 
preached the Gospel to them. But the historical 
founder of the Armenian church was St. Gregory 
' Tozer, The Church and the Eastern Empire^ pp. 22, 86. 



Who are the Armenians f 137 

" The Illuminator," * an Arsarcid prince, related to 
KingTiridates (Dertad), who was consecrated Bishop 
of Armenia, at Caesarea, in 302 A. D. The Armenian 
church is Episcopal in polity, and closely resembles 
the Greek in outward forms. 

Misled by imperfect reports of the Council of 
Chalcedon, 451, which they were not able to attend 
on account of Persian persecutions, the Armenian 
bishops annulled its decrees in 536, thus gaining the 
credit of being Eutychians, which led to their gradual 
separation from the orthodox church, much to the 
satisfaction of the Persian ruler Chosroes. This es- 
trangement was doubtless political as much as doc- 
trinal, on account of the attempts at ecclesiastical 
supremacy by the churches of Constantinople and 
Rome. As far as her ecclesiastical writers are con- 
cerned, and her beautiful liturgy, the Armenian 
church is in general orthodox. Her heresy, in com- 
mon with that of the rest of Christendom, is one of 
life rather than of doctrine. A chism in the Armenian 
church was brought about in the sixteenth century 
by Jesuit missionaries, who succeeded in detaching 
the community of Catholic Armenians from the 
mother church, of which the Catholicos at Etchmiad- 
zin is recognized as the supreme head. 

All Armenians — except perhaps the Catholic, 
whose allegiance has been transferred of course to 
Rome — still cherish a passionate attachment for the 
venerable church of their ancestors, to which they 
owe their identity as a people after the terrible vicis- 

' Krikor " Loosavoritch," from which title the Armenian Gregorian 
church calls itself Loosavortchagan. 



138 The Crisis in Turkey, 

situdes of so many centuries. It is true that Ar- 
menians who have come under European influence, 
especially French, have to some extent become scep- 
tical and indifferent to religion. But even such men 
still profess at least an outward loyalty, as a matter 
of sentiment, and because they believe the formal 
preservation of the Armenian church to be the con- 
dition of national union in the future as it has been 
in the past. It is, indeed, almost a political necessity, 
as the Ottoman Empire is now constituted. 

It is to be hoped that the time will come when the 
children of the Armenian church of every shade will 
no longer look upon her as a mother frail and failing, 
yet to be treated with respect while she lasts ; nor as 
a mother ignorant and bigoted beyond hope of re- 
form ; still less, as one heretical and to be abandoned 
for Rome. Rather, let all her sons rally around her 
and help her to fulfil her true spiritual mission. She 
will then renew her youth and again take her honored 
place in the front ranks of " the Church of the living 
God, which is the pillar and ground of the truth." 

Would that the spirit of the grand and broad- 
minded man who is now the Catholicos at Etchmiad- 
zin, His HoHness, Mugerditch ' Khrimian, might 
pervade the whole body of which he is the honored 
and beloved head. Less than a year ago, the author 
had the privilege of a long private interview with this 
venerable ecclesiastic, whose hand he kissed in ori- 
ental fashion, with respect for the man and for himself. 
His last words to me, found upon the title-page, 
were *' Husahadelii chenk,'' meaning, " We must not 
despair" — a good motto for us all. 



Who are the Armenians ? 



139 



That the grand old church of " The Illuminator " 
should somewhat lose its hold on the mind and con- 
science of the rising generation at this stage of super- 




THE CATHOLICOS OF ETCHMIADZIN, IN THE CAUCASUS. 

Religious head of the Armenian Church. 

ficial enlightenment is not strange. Her real merits 
are concealed, unfortunately, under a growth of super- 
stition and ignorance which even the clergy admit. 



140 The Crisis in Turkey, 

but lack the courage and ability to remove. These 
abuses, however, are not due to any demoralization 
of the Armenian race itself, but to its isolation, and 
to the repeated and terrible devastations that have 
checked its growth and reduced it to a condition of 
extreme poverty and helplessness. 

No greater service could be rendered to the Ar- 
menian people than aid and encouragement in estab- 
lishing institutions for the education of the clergy, 
who under present circumstances are their natural 
leaders. The twentieth century will bring, we hope, 
better political privileges. But unless, in the mean- 
time, the ancient church has maintained her hold 
on the conscience of the rising generation, she is in 
danger of sinking into the position of the church in 
France. 

By nature the Armenians are deeply religious, a? 
their whole literature and history show. It has been 
a religion of the heart, not of the head. Its evidence 
is not to be found in metaphysical discussions and 
hair-splitting theology as in the case of the Greeks, 
but in a brave and simple record written with the 
tears of saints and illuminated with the blood of 
martyrs. 

The seeds of a thorough and far-reaching reforma- 
tion have been carefully sown and are already bear- 
ing fruit. The prospect of reform is brightened by- 
three facts : first, the Armenian church is essentially 
democratic, and is not in bondage to any '' infallible " 
human authority ; second, her errors of doctrine and 
practice are not fundamental, and, having never been 
sanctioned by councils, but simply by custom and 




at 

xn 

o 

a 

H 



Who are the Armenians f 



141 



tradition, can in due time be discarded ; third, she 
has always acknowledged the supreme authority of 




THE SUBORDINATE CATHOLICOS OF AGHTAMAR, A TOOL OF 
THE TURKS. 

Wearing the Sultan's highest decorations for services rendered. 

the Bible, which is no longer a sealed book, having 
been translated into the modern tongue by American 
missionaries, very widely scattered, and at last gladly 



142 The Crisis in Turkey, 

received by all classes. The demand for progress and 
reform is by no means confined to the so-called 
** evangelical " element, but is making itself heard 
even in the pulpits of the old church and in the 
secular press. 

The Armenians, very numerous in ancient times, 
now number only about 4,000,000, of Avhom 2,500,000 
are under the Sultan, 1,200,000 in Russia, 150,000 in 
Persia, and the rest widely scattered in many lands, 
but everywhere distinguished for their peaceable and 
enterprising character. They are the leading bankers, 
merchants, and skilled artisans of Turkey, and exten- 
sively engage in the various trades, manufactures, 
and agriculture as well. They love their native home 
and are yet destined to play an important part in the 
moral and material regeneration of western Asia. 

The following estimate is from an experienced and 
discriminating authority, who is also a member of 
the Church of England : 

** I have confessed already to a prejudice against 
the Armenians, but it is not possible to deny that 
they are the most capable, energetic, enterprising, 
and pushing race in Western Asia, physically su- 
perior, and intellectually acute, and above all they 
are a race zvJiich caii be raised in all respects to our 
own levels neither religion, color , customs, nor inferi- 
ority in intellect or force constituting any barrier be- 
tween us. Their shrewdness and aptitude for business 
are remarkable, and whatever exists of commercial 
enterprise in Eastern Asia Minor is almost altogether 
in their hands. They have singular elasticity, as 
their survival as a church and nation shows, and I 



Who are the Armenians? 143 

cannot but think it likely that they may have some 
share in determining the course of events in the 
East, both politically and religiously. As Orientals 
they understand Oriental character and modes of 
thought as we never can, and if a new Pentecostal 
afflatus were to fall upon the educated and intelli- 
gent young men who are being trained in the colleges 
which the American churches have scattered liberally 
through Asia Minor, the effect upon Turkey would 
be marvellous. I think most decidedly that re- 
form in Turkey must come through Christianity, 
and in this view the reform and enlightenment of the 
religion which has such a task before it are of mo- 
mentous importance. " * 

Language and Literature. — The Armenian 
grammar is analogous to that of other languages of 
the same origin. It has not the distinction of gen- 
der, but is rich in its declensions and conjugations. 
The accent of Armenian words is on the last, sylla- 
ble, and many of the strong consonantal sounds 
strike the ear of a foreigner with harshness, and defy 
his tongue. The rich native vocabulary has been 
increased by additions from languages with which it 
has come in contact. It possesses also, as the Ger- 
man, great facility in building compound words. 

The earliest specimen of this language, though in 
the cuneiform character, is probably to be found in 
the tri-lingual inscriptions on the great citadel rock 
of Van, which have not yet been satisfactorily made 
out. The pre-Christian literature of Armenia, con- 
sisting of national songs, has entirely perished, ex- 

* Mrs. Bishop, journeys in Persia and Kurdistan^ vol. ii. , p. 336. 



144 ^^ Crisis in Turkey, 

cept a few quotations. All that has come down to 
us is subsequent to the fourth century, and refers 
exclusively to history or religion. Poetry and fiction 
never greatly flourished among this serious race, al- 
ways in the midst of danger or suffering. 

The ancient Armenian version of the Bible, made 
by Mesrob, the inventor of their alphabet, and his 
disciples, early in the fifth century, has been called 
the queen of versions for its beauty, and, though not 
based on the Hebrew, is of some critical value in 
determining the readings of the Septuagint, of which 
it does not follow any known recension. Hundreds 
of other translations from Syriac and Greek writers 
soon followed, some of which are extant only in 
Armenian. 

The fifth century, their Golden Age, was adorned 
by such classic writers as Yeznig of Goghp, who 
wrote most eloquently, in four books, against the 
Persian fire-worshippers, the Greek philosophers, 
the Marcion heresy, and the Manichaeans ; Goriun, 
the biographer of Mesrob ; David, the philosopher 
and translator of Aristotle ; Yeghishe, who relates 
the heroic struggle of Vartan for the Christian faith 
against the Persian Zoroastrians ; Lazarus of Parb ; 
and Moses of Khorene, their national historian. 
There follows a period of four centuries of literary 
barrenness, due to political disorder and schism. 

Under the Rupenian dynasty there was a second 
period of literary brilliancy. Then flourished Nerses 
Schnorhali '' The Gracious," an orator grafted upon 
the poet ; as well as Nerses of Lampron, whose hymns 
also enrich the beautiful Armenian liturgy. The 



Who are the Armenians ? 



H5 



annals of Matthew of Edessa give interesting facts 
about the first Crusade. Samuel of Ani, John 




THE ISLAND MONASTERY OF AGHTAMAR, IN LAKE VAN. 

One of many similar Armenian Monasteries still existing, rich in 
parchment manuscripts exposed to decay and vandalism. 

Vanagan, Vartan the Great, and Thomas of Med- 

zop wrote succeeding chronicles. 

A third revival of Armenian letters was begun by 
10 



146 The Crisis in Turkey, 

Mechitar of Sebaste (SIvas),who established an order 
of Catholic monks at the monastery of St. Lazarus 
in Venice, 171 7. These fathers have won the inter- 
est and admiration of European scholars by their 
publication of Armenian classics, together with many 
learned original contributions. Other centres of 
literary activity are to be found in Vienna, Paris, 
and the Institute of Moscow, as well as the schools 
of Constantinople and Tiflls. 

A list of authorities on Armenian subjects is given 
in Appendix E. 



CHAPTER XL 

AMERICANS IN TURKEY, THEIR WORK AND 
INFLUENCE. 

THE American missionaries in the Turkish Em- 
pire are brought into the discussion of ahnost 
every question that arises in that land. 
Especially is this true at present, in C9nnection with 
the Armenian problem. So many wild and contra- 
dictory statements are made in regard to them, and 
the Protestant communities which are the direct re- 
sults of their labors, that the mind of the public is 
more or less confused on the subject. The mission- 
aries, and the many thousands who have gladly fol- 
lowed their leadership in intellectual, moral, and 
religious reform, are an important, though not a 
noisy or conspicuous element. For this reason, as 
well as on account of popular ignorance and hostile 
misrepresentation, they cannot be overlooked in any 
fair and adequate survey of the situation. The 
writer has long been familiar with this phase of the 
subject, and has a large mass of evidence and statis- 
tics at his command. But Jie is 7iot connected with 
any of the various missionary societies involved, and is 
alone responsible for the statements made in this or 
any other part of the volume, 

147 



148 The Crisis in Turkey, 

It is very important to note that charges against 
the missionaries, of disloyalty to the Sultan, have 
never been sustained for a moment, and that investi- 
gation has shown them to be obedient to the laws, 
and opposed to revolutionary sentiments upon the 
part of any of the subjects of the Empire. The 
highest officials have repeatedly borne public testi- 
mony to the valuable services of the Americans in 
educational, literary, medical and philanthropic 
lines. Even H. I. M. Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid has 
graciously given expression to his confidence in 
Americans as being free from any political designs, 
such as all Europeans are supposed to entertain. 

Many are not aware of the great work already ac- 
complished by American missionaries during the 
past seventy years in the Ottoman Empire, nor of 
the vast influence they have exerted, both directly 
and indirectly. They have been in many depart- 
ments the pioneers of civilization. They have stuck 
to their posts, obscure or prominent, in peace or in 
war, in famine, plague and persecution. Pashas and 
diplomats and generals have sought their aid without 
fear of being misled or betrayed. But the messen- 
gers of the Cross have never been swerved from what 
they consider a ''higher calling" — to instruct the 
ignorant, young and old, to counsel and reclaim the 
erring, to attend the sick and imprisoned, and to 
comfort the broken-hearted. To support these gen- 
eral statements, the reader must pardon a few statis- 
tics compiled from the latest official tables, showing 
the direct results of American missionary effort in 
Turkey. 



Americans in Turkey, 149 

STATISTICS OF AMERICAN MISSIONS IN TURKEY.' 

The following figures, with the exception of che 
Press statistics, represent the work of the American 
Board (Congregational) and of the Presbyterian 
Board taken together. 

The Congregational proportion constitutes about 
three fourths and the Presbyterian one fourth in all 
these figures, the work of the latter society being 
confined to Syria and Mosul. 

THE FORCE. 

Laborers. 

Foreign missionaries ....... 223 

Native pastors, preachers, teachers, etc. . . . 1,094 



Total force of laborers . . ,^ . .1,317 

American missionaries to Turkey since 1821 . . . 550 

' By far the largest part of foreign missionary work in Turkey 
has always been in the hands of Americans, although, of course, 
they neither claim nor have any monopoly in this respect. As a mat- 
ter of fact there are many other large and successful missionary, be- 
nevolent, and educational enterprises conducted in that land by other 
foreign societies as well as individuals. The various Roman Catholic 
orders are strongly established in many parts, and are generally of 
French connections and introduce that language in their work as the 
Americans do English. The following is a partial list of other socie- 
ties at work in Turkey : The British and Foreign Bible Society, the 
Church Missionary Society, the Bible Lands Missions Aid Society, 
the British Syrian Mission Schools and Bible Work, the Church of 
Scotland Mission to the Jews, the Society of Friends (both English 
and American), the Irish Presbyterian Mission, the Reformed Pres- 
byterian Mission, and the German Deaconesses. In addition to all 
these agencies, there are many private and local schools and institu- 
tions that are doing excellent work, but of which only this general 
mention can here be made. 

The statistics of Robert College, Constantinople, are not included 
in these tables, as that institution, though a child of American Mis- 
sions, is independent of them. 



I50 



The Crisis in Turkey, 



Plant. 

Value of property held by Americans, exclusive of 
churches, schools, etc., erected in the names of 
native subjects, with foreign aid, for which sta- 
tistics are not available ..... 

A nnual Expenditure. 

Appropriations from America .... 
From native sources ...... 



$2,500,000 



$225,000 
60,000 



Total expenditure annually . . . $285,000 

Total American expenditure from the first, at least $10,000,000 



THE RESULTS. 

Religious. 

Churches organized . , . . . 

Other stated preaching places ... 

Total number of preaching places . 

Communicants (received on confession of faith) 
Members of Protestant civil communities (adherents) 
Average Sunday congregations . 
Sunday-school membership 

'Educational. 

Colleges well equipped, for 

both sexes .... 
Theological seminaries 
High-schools for boys i 

Boarding-schools for girls \ 
Common schools for both sexes 



So 



students 



530 



155 

281 

436 

13,528 
60,000 
40,000 
35,000 



4,085 



23,315 



Total schools of all grades . 621 Students . 27,400 

There are six American institutions in Turkey 
incorporated under the laws of the United States, 
and controlled by trustees in that land. 

Medical. 

There is a well equipped American Medical Col- 
lege and Hospital at Beirut, and American mission- 



Americans in Turkey, 151 

ary physicians treat, yearly, many thousands of 
patients of all classes and races throughout the 
land, both in their dispensaries and in private prac- 
tice, at a nominal sum and very often gratuitously. 
Publishing. 

Both weekly and monthly newspapers are pub- 
lished by the American missionaries at Constantino- 
ple, in the Armenian, Turkish, Greek, and Bulgarian 
languages, and an Arabic weekly is published at 
Beirut. 

The catalogue of editions of the Scriptures and of 
religious, educational, and miscellaneous books and 
tracts in various languages, which may be obtained 
at the American Bible House, Constantinople, con- 
tains separate titles to the number 'of about 1000. 
The publications in the catalogue of the Presbyte. 
rian Press at Beirut, mostly in Arabic, number 507. 
The number of copies of the Scriptures (entire or in 
part) put in circulation by the Levant Agency of the 
American Bible Society alone, 1847 to i^93> ^^ i>37^r 
715. The number of'copies of the Scriptures (entire 
or in part) in languages and type available for Mo- 
hammedans, put in circulation by the same Agency 
in 1893, was Osmanli-Turkish (Arabic type), 5,392 ; 
Arabic language (Arabic type), 34,077 ; total, 39,469. 

The number of copies of Scriptures (entire or in 
part) circulated in Turkey since 1820 amounts to 
about 3,000,000. The number of copies of other 
books and tracts for the same period is about 4,000,- 
000. The total number of copies of the Scriptures 
and of miscellaneous literature circulated is therefore 
about 7,000,000. 



152 



The Crisis in Turkey, 



Even these large figures by no means measure the 
extent and significance of Protestant influence in 
Turkey. The idea and spirit of Protestantism has a 
breadth which cannot be measured or portrayed by 
figures. As a matter of convenience and political 




ARMENIAN FAMILY, BITLIS. 



necessity, and also to destroy unity of feeling and 
action among the subject peoples, all non-Moslem 
races were classified by Mohammed II., after the 
capture of Constantinople in 1453, according to their 
religious belief. These lines of division have always 



Americans in Turkey, 153 

been strictly observed by the government in all its 
dealings with non-Moslems. Even many of the taxes 
are collected through ecclesiastical organizations. 
This policy of the government, together with the 
bitter persecution of Protestants by the older 
churches, led to the formation of a Protestant civil 
community in 1 850, contrary to the original desire 
and instruction of the missionaries, and in spite of 
the protests of many evangelicals who preferred to 
retain connection with their ancestral church, but 
who were thrust out with violence and anathema. 

The Protestant communities which then sprang up 
all over the Empire, were not ruled, as are the other 
Oriental churches, by hierarchical bodies. The mis- 
sionaries, who are mostly Congregational or Presby- 
terian, while ready to advise and guide, have never 
exercised ecclesiastical control over their converts. 
The Protestants, in accordance with their inherent 
spirit and beliefs, have naturally organized their re- 
ligious and civil communities on a simple representa- 
tive basis, which has -gradually developed indepen- 
dence of thought and character, and desire for 
progress. 

We come now to the indirect results of missionary 
effort, namely, the stimulus of evangelical example and 
success upon the Gregorian and other communities 
including even the Mohammedans. The homes, 
schools, and churches of the missionaries have been 
open to all comers ; their varied literature has gone 
everwhere ; their aid in sickness, distress, and 
famine has always ignored race or creed. Many 
thousands of Armenians, Greeks, Syrians, Jacob- 



154 "The Crisis in Ttirkey, 

ites and others — IMoslems being prevented by 
their rulers except in rare instances — have received 
education in Protestant schools, without changing 
their church relations. But, nevertheless, a deep 
impression has been made on these pupils by con- 
tact no less than by teaching, and this, together with 
a natural and worthy loyalty to their own institutions, 
has stirred up all the other races to higher ideals and 
efforts.' 

The existence of a marked desire for progress by 
all classes is now clear, and that this is largely due to 
foreign missionaries is admitted by all" — gratefully 
by the Armenians and Christians generally, but often 
with chagrin by the Turks, who find themselves 

' " The creation of churches, strict in their discipline, and protest- 
ing against the mass of superstitions which smother all spiritual life 
in the National Armenian Church, is undoubtedly having a very salu- 
tary effect far beyond the limited membership, and is tending to force 
reform upon an ancient church which contains within herself the ele- 
ments of resurrection." — ]\Irs. Bishop, Journeys in Persia and Kurd- 
istan^ vol. ii., p. 336. 

^ Unhappily there are some who can see nothing but bigotry and 
mistakes in what the missionaries have done. Such characters are to 
be found among all races, as the follo^\^ng extract shows : 

" It might be thought that here, [Missilonghi] on the spot where he 
[Byron] breathed his last, malignity would have held her accursed 
tongue; but it was not so. He had committed the fault, unpardonable 
in the eyes of political opponents, of attaching himself to one of the 
great parties that then divided Greece ; and though he had given her all 
that man could give, in his own dying words, ' his time, his means, 
his health, and, lastly, his life,' the Greeks spoke of him with all the 
rancour and bitterness of party spirit. Even death had not won obliv- 
ion for his political offences ; and I heard those who saw him die in 
her cause affirm that Byron was no friend to Greece." — Stephens, 
Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland, New York : Harper and Brothers, 
1839. 



Americans t7z Turkey, i r r 

being rapidly left behind in thefonvard march which 
they have been too stupid or too proud to fall in 
with. It is, however, very gratifying to see that the 
Mohammedan leaders in both Church and State are 
at length becoming aware of the marked intellectual 
awakening and substantial progress that education 
has quietly brought about among the Christian races. 
Robert College on the Bosphorus stands at the head 
of the many well equipped American institutions in 
Turkey which have largely contributed to these 
results. 

We gladly recognize the wisdom and energy of 
His Majesty the present Sultan, in trving to estab- 
lish Moslem schools throughout his empire, some of 
which are already quite large, creditable, and popu- 
lar with the Turks. It cannot be doubted that these 
schools will lead ultimately to an awakening and a 
desire for reform and progress among ^Moslems 
which will make them no less restive under present 
conditions than are the non-Moslems to-day, and 
thus hasten the necessar}- reforms. While most 
hearty praise is due His Majesty for fostering and 
even forcing education among his Moslem subjects, 
it is greatly to be regretted that there is another side 
to this policy as carried out by his agents, namely, 
an equal zeal in curtailing and even closing, as far as 
possible, Christian schools. 

The hostility of the Sublime Porte has been grow- 
ing, just in proportion as the excellent results of 
American institutions, already enumerated, have 
appeared. Does the Turkish Government desire 
that its hostility be considered the most convincing 



156 The Crisis in Turkey. 

proof of the success of disinterested efforts to benefit 
its subjects of all classes? And does it propose 
to continue to cripple and suppress such efforts ? If 
so, it is not the two hundred and fifty American 
missionaries in her borders who will suffer, but the 
many schools and churches which they have planted 
and the many thousands of peaceable and hitherto 
loyal subjects, who have been taught in them to 
serve God as well as honor the king. 



CHAPTER XII. 
ARMENIAN VILLAGE LIFE. 

THE following description will show to what con- 
dition the villagers of Armenia had been re- 
duced by their oppressors. And yet it was 
such people who had to be further inpoverished and 
massacred, lest by their indomitable hopefulness and 
industry, and by the operation of reforms guaranteed 
by Europe, they might rise to equality with their 
Mohammedan neighbors. Of course the customs 
and style of living of the Armenians in the cities 
and in some villages, were on a far higher plane, 
but they too have now been utterly prostrated. 

It is very easy to 'miss the villages as one travels 
through the country ; their location is indicated by 
a few trees and cultivated fields rather than by con- 
spicuous buildings. The houses themselves are in- 
variably low and contiguous, and of the color of the 
mud and stones of which they are made. Where 
the houses are on a hillside they run back into the 
ground, so that they present only a front elevation, 
the solid earth forming the sides and rear wall. In 
the region of Bitlis the earthen roofs of the houses, 
instead of being flat, are rounded, and thus the vil- 
lage at a distance looks like a collection of gigantic 

157 



158 The Crisis in Turkey, 

ant-hills, from the centre of which, however, there 
towers a church, symbolic of the great and promi- 
nent part which religion plays in the humble lives of 
the people. The churches and monasteries are often 
very ancient structures of hewn stone, in some cases 
richly carved with inscriptions and reliefs, and sur- 
mounted with a low round conical tower. The dif- 
ference between these fine old structures and the 
modern hovels which surround them forcibly sug- 
gests to the beholder the former prosperity of this 
ancient people when independent, in contrast with 
the poverty and degradation to which they have 
been reduced by their Ottoman masters. In some 
places the remains of fine stone bridges are to be 
seen, where now the traveller is compelled to ford 
the stream, at the risk of losing his baggage and 
perhaps his life. 

The family is conducted on strictly patriarchal 
lines. As the sons grow up and are married they 
bring their brides to the father's house instead of 
starting new homes of their own. For this large 
establishment, which includes all, from grandparents 
to grandchildren, the word " family " or ''house " is 
used. With this explanation it does not seem so 
strange to hear of families of twenty or even fifty 
souls. These large families are the units which com- 
pose the village. The members of each family have 
everything in common, property, living room.s, house- 
hold cares and pleasures included. 

The freedom of the family home belongs not sim- 
ply to every human member of it, but is also gener- 
ously conferred upon the numerous animals on which 



Armenian Village Life, 159 

the family depends. As day declines, cows, buffaloes, 
horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, and chickens 
all turn their steps to the common entrance, where 
each knows his place and is duly cared for. There 
is little distinction between drawing-room, kitchen, 
chamber, and stable ; they all form parts of one 
semi-subterranean cavern, which is divided by posts, 
railings, and walls, forming a veritable labyrinth to 
the stranger, though every turn is familiar to the 
regular occupants. The people gladly welcome the 
European traveller, as an angel from the outside 
world, who can take back their story, and who, 
they know, will pay for all he receives, instead of 
extorting it as do the Kurds and Turkish zaptichs, 
or police. 

^ On reaching the village where one is to spend the 
night, he naturally desires at once to see his quar- 
ters. After the saddle is removed that it may not 
be injured in going through the low passages, both 
horse and traveller are led in by the light of a flicker- 
ing wick in a cup of linseed-oil, which barely suffices 
to reveal the sooty walls and posts. The guide warns 
you not to strike your head on that beam, or to step 
into the puddle on your left ; in avoiding the puddle 
you stumble over something on the right, but your 
host immediately puts you at your ease by saying it 
was only a calf. He then proceeds to remove a yoke 
of buffaloes or half a dozen sheep from one obscure 
corner, and informs you that it is at your disposal. 
The poor creatures linger so near that you can hear 
them breathe and catch the reproachful expression 
of their lustrous eyes. Before you realize what is 



i6o The Crisis in Turkey, 

^oing on, the corner has been swept, with the effect 
of raising a stifling dust. In summer you would 
prefer the roof to the inside accommodation, but 
this happy alternative would be impossible in win- 
ter. The temperature of these crowded, unventi- 
lated, damp compartments — not to mention the fleas 
— makes you so uncomfortable that sleep is out of 
the question. A hole in the roof is often the only 
window, and serves also as a chimney ; but in winter 
even this is generally closed. 

The heavy pungent smoke of the animal fuel with 
which your supper is being cooked at last drives you 
out of your corner, and you conclude to take a quiet 
look about the house. The children, overawed by 
your presence, make no sound and hardly dare to 
move. You notice one woman nursing a baby, tightly 
rolled in swaddling bands and strapped into a cradle. 
She does not remove the child, but sits upon the 
floor, which is of earth, tilting the cradle over to her. 
The cradle has no rockers, and if the child cries he 
is rudely *' soothed " by being bumped from side to 
side. Another woman is churning a goatskin full of 
sour milk by jerking it back and forth as it hangs 
from a beam in the roof. 

The meal, which consists of fermented milk, boiled 
wheat or rice, and eggs fried In a sea of butter, is at 
last served in the middle of the floor, on a round 
tray, about a yard In diameter, of wood or copper, 
resting on a low stool. Every article of food is served 
in a single dish, from which each helps himself, using 
his fingers for a fork. If the food is liquid, it is eaten 
by twisting the thin tenacious bread into the form of 



Armenian Village Life, i6i 

a spoon, which disappears in the mouth together with 
what it conveys. The civiHzed drudgery of dish- 
washing is thus reduced to the simple process of 
washing hands, whicli each one does for himself, 
both before and after the meal. 

A certain etiquette and kindly feeling refines even 
these dismal homes, and points to higher ideals than 
the material condition would indicate. 

THE SASSOUN COMMUNITY. 

As a matter of history I wish to place on record 
a brief description of the inhabitants of Sassoun, 
who were killed, scattered and destroyed as a com- 
munity by the massacre of 1894, and subsequent 
events. 

Hemmed in by rough mountains and wild Kurds, 
the Armenians of the Sassoun district were a re- 
markable community of about forty villages, shut off 
from the outside world, of which they had only the 
most vague ideas. Their position, bravery, and 
numbers had enabled them to resist, to some extent, 
the robber tribes around them, but not the con- 
stantly increasing extortions of the Turkish tax- 
gatherer. The dread of the former and the burden 
of the latter were all that clouded their otherwise 
glad and simple existence. They were not, like the 
more exposed and impoverished Armenians of the 
plains, in the habit of seeking employment in distant 
cities, but, like all mountaineers, were passionately 
attached to home. The commercial instinct, so 
strong in most Armenians, was foreign to them. I 
once asked one of the leading men of Ghelieguzan, 
11 



1 62 The Crisis in Turkey, 

" What is there > du need which you cannot make 
yourselves?" ** Nothing but salt," he instantly re- 
plied, adding, after a pause, ^' and gunpowder." 
Shut out the Kurds, and the Armenians would have 
had no use for gunpowder except against the bears 
and wolves. 

Though the mountains were rocky and precipitous, 
a large population supported itself by the care of 
fields and flocks in the fertile and sheltered valleys. 
Life in Sassoun was physically comfortable, though 
not luxurious. Open-handed hospitality and care of 
the poor were as much a duty as provision for one's 
own family. The houses were of stone, often two 
and even three stories high. 

There was considerable variety in the occupations 
which followed one another in rapid succession 
throughout the year. No drones were tolerated in 
that busy hive, and in all their toil men and women 
stood shoulder to shoulder. Which bore the heavier 
burden the reader may decide. Take the care of the 
flocks and herds for instance, in which their chief 
wealth consisted. To the men was entrusted the 
task of pasturing and protecting them, but the 
women did all the milking and made the butter and 
cheese. The shearing of the sheep was men's work, 
but the women washed, carded, and spun the wool 
into thread, which was then woven into excellent 
cloth by the men on their heavy looms, and after- 
ward made into garments for all the household by 
the women. Crude cotton, also, brought from 
Mesopotamia, was put through the same stages. 
The bringing of wood and water was always left to 



Armenian Village Life, 163 

the women and girls. After the men had ploughed, 
sowed, and irrigated the fields, the reaping — a very 
slow and laborious task — was done by their wives 
and sisters, who also winnowed and cleaned the 
grain, after the men had threshed it. The straw was 
carefully stored for the food of the horses and cattle 
in winter. 

During the dry months of summer practically all 
the animals and most of the women and children 
would migrate to the cool upper slopes of the 
mountains, where the melting snow keeps the grass 
always green. The men by irrigation were able to 
raise wheat, millet, barley, and rye, together with such 
vegetables as potatoes, tomatoes, squashes, cucum- 
bers, turnips, peas, and beans. Around their rude 
low stone houses they nourished a few fruit trees 
such as the apple, pear, cherry, apricot, and quince. 
In the lower valleys of Talori the fig also flourished 
and the vine, but in the course of the massacre all 
fruit trees and vineyards throughout the region were 
systematically cut down. Honey of excellent 
quality was very abundant. 

These clever people made even their own iron 
tools, which were so good as to be readily sold in 
Moosh and other neighboring towns. The villagers 
obtained the iron from the crude ore which, after 
being laboriously extracted' by hand was reduced in 
rude furnaces, kept at melting heat by hand bellows 
day and night, two weeks at a time. The only fuel 
used was wood, and care had to be taken not to let 
the metal run out in quantities larger than a black- 
smith could easily handle in making a plowshare, 



164 The Crisis in Turkey, 

scythe, axe, sword, or knife. The report that these 
blacksmiths even had the skill to make a rifle barrel 
is a mistake. 

I once asked a man and his wife to enumerate the 
various tasks which fell to their respective sexes and 
was quite amused at the eager competition into 
which they at once entered. Strange to say, the 
woman entirely omitted the training and care of 
children as one of her additional burdens. When I 
called attention to this oversight they both exclaimed 
" The children take care of themselves." And so they 
do, almost from the first. The children, with their 
bright eyes and ruddy faces, would be attractive but 
for the fact that they were often far from tidy, and 
were dressed in coarse garments of red or blue. They 
were loved but not often petted, being taught to be 
silent and to show an air of reverence in the presence 
of their elders. At a very early age, the children 
were initiated into the employments which were to 
occupy their lives. 

Almost the only men who knew how to read and 
write were those connected with the Church, and 
they were by no means adepts. In the matter of 
numbers, however, they could easily calculate with- 
out the aid of figures. These intelligent highlanders 
knew the value of education, and had repeatedly 
tried to start schools in their villages, but they were 
invariably closed by the government. 

The morality of the people of Sassoun was of a 
very high standard. Wine made by themselves was 
moderately used on festive occasions, but drunken- 
ness was practically unknown. The mountain 



Armenian Village Life, 165 

women, unlike their sisters of the cities, used the 
veil, not to cover the face, but to fall as a graceful 
drapery down the back. They had the frank and 
direct look which we are accustomed to see only in 
children, and were quick to detect and resent evil, 
even with violence, as the intruder would find to his 
cost. These people had neither laws nor courts, but 
referred their disputes to the head-man of the vil- 
lage, from whose decision appeal was rarely made. 
The head-man, or ""re'is,'' held office simply by com- 
mon consent of the villagers, not as a hereditary 
right or a prerogative of wealth, but because of 
superior character and ability. 

Religion was a vital matter to the people of Sas- 
soun, but concerned itself only with the barest essen- 
tials. They had no more conception of theologi- 
cal doctrines than had the people who listened to 
the Sermon on the Mount. Christianity was to them 
a story, the characters of which were real and kept 
before them by the frequent festivals of the Chris- 
tian year. They felt profound reverence for the 
Virgin Mary, but Christ was the object of their wor- 
ship. Their gratitude, submission, and love to Him 
would find expression in brief significant exclama- 
tions, deep sighs, and sometimes silent tears. Such 
evidences I have frequently noticed among Armenian 
peasants as they listened to the reading of the Scrip- 
tures or engaged in prayer. Their first daily act as 
they stepped from their dark cheerless dwellings was 
an act of prayer, accompanied by repeated prostra- 
tions to the East with the sign of the Cross. 

A large number of villagers who had escaped the 



1 66 The Crisis in Turkey, 

general massacre, and, relying on Turkish promises, 
followed their priest into the soldiers* camp, were 
offered their lives on condition they would trample 
upon the Crucifix and Holy Gospels. But the priest 
in horror refused to commit this sacrilege, and every 
member of his flock, following his example, was forth- 
with butchered. 

I have carefully verified these details of Sassoun 
life and of the massacre in conversation with Bedros 
and his wife, who, after escaping almost miraculously, 
when a score of their relatives were killed before 
their eyes, were brought to London to give their 
testimony. I was profoundly impressed with the 
simple dignity and absolute truthfulness of these 
witnesses, who bore bodily scars, and in their faces 
showed the evidence of the terrible sorrow and suf- 
fering through which they had so lately gone. 
When asked what his impression was of England, 
the man thoughtfully replied : '' I wonder at the 
houses, the great buildings, the fields all like gardens, 
the multitude of people, their wealth, and their 
churches ; but, most of all, I wonder that with all 
their greatness and power they did not lift a finger 
to save us, their poor fellows-Christians, of whose 
sufferings they have so long been officially informed." 

The following incident throws much light upon 
the character and environment of the people of 
Sassoun. About six years ago twenty armed Kurds 
suddenly came down upon the house of a rich man 
near Ghelieguzan to steal the sheep, when only his 
wife and children were at home. They ordered the 
woman to prepare a good meal before they left. In 



Armenia7t Village Life. 167 

the most obliging manner the housewife set about 
her task. But in the meantime she dispatched one 
of her Httle boys to give the alarm to the men, away 
on the mountain side. The unsuspecting Kurds 
hung their long flint-lock rifles on the walls of the 
kitchen, and went out to search the stables and 
collect the live stock. While they were engaged in 
this work, out of sight, the woman with her strong 
fingers, quickly pulled out the flint from the lock of 
each musket, leaving them still hanging on the wall. 
In order to allow the men of her family more time, 
she prepared a specially elaborate meal, to which 
the Kurds made no objection. But when they were 
in the midst of the repast, they suddenly found 
themselves surrounded by the villagers who had 
hastily mustered. Each Kurd seized his flint-lock 
only to find it useless. They thereupon drew their 
swords and daggers, and were about to make a rush 
to escape, but were quickly brought to bay by the 
levelled muskets of the Armenians, to whom they 
thought best to surrender. After being stripped of 
all their arms and outer garments the Kurds were 
informed that they might go home, and if they 
wished their weapons they might return the next 
day with reinforcements and try to take them. The 
Kurds did not see fit to try this method, but so pes- 
tered the Armenians in other ways, that at the end 
of three months the muskets were given back to 
avoid further trouble. 

It should not be thought, however, that such inci- 
dents as this could occur among the Armenians any- 
where in Turkey, except among the highlanders of 



1 68 The Crisis in Tttrkey. 

Sassoun, or those of Zeitoun, three hundred miles 
west in the Taurus mountains. Tliese two Httle 
communities were quite exceptional in their secure 
location and brave spirit. The other Armenians 
throughout Eastern Turkey, timid and crushed by 
more severe oppression, used to speak of the Sas- 
sounlis with an admiration almost akin to reverence. 
It was on this account that tJiey were singled out by 
the Government for extermination, for it was feared 
that their brave and independent spirit might spread 
to the Armenians of the plains and cities, while their 
destruction, on the other hand, would strike terror 
every w^here, and prove a salutary object-lesson to 
those who might be disposed to express dissatisfac- 
tion wdth the Sultan's rule. In this calculation the 
Turks were mistaken. The blood of those noble 
mountaineers, instead of acting like a stupefying 
drug upon the Armenian race, proved to be a stimu- 
lant, and enlisted the sympathy of Europe. This 
so alarmed and irritated the Turks that, in order 
to prevent any progress of the Armenians either 
through their own efforts or those of Europe, they 
have committed further massacres in comparison 
with which Sassoun hardly deserves to be mentioned. 
There are no words to characterize the cowardly 
betrayal of the Armenians by England, and Europe 
which guaranteed their protection. 

The '' Powers " impotent for good, while masquer- 
ading in the livery of Christianity, have proved its 
worst enemies and shown themselves callous even to 
the principles of ordinary humanity. • 



APPENDIX A. 

A BIT OF AMERICAN DIPLOMACY IN TURKEY. 

THE CASE. 

(Foreign Relations of the United vStates, 1884, pp. 538-539.^) 

(Inclosure in No. 317.) 

Mr. Wallace to Aarifi Pasha. 

Note Verbale. 

Legation of the United States, 

Cojzstantinople ^ yanua^-y 24^ 1884. 

The legation of the United States of America has the honor to in- 
vite the attention of his highness, the minister of foreign affairs, to 
the matters following : 

By note No. 167, June 13, 1883, the legation informed his high- 
ness that two American citizens, traveling in the vilayet of Bitlis, had 
been set upon by Kurds, robbed, and left to die, and that the 
governor-general of the vilayet had manifested the most singular in- 
difference about the affair, and might be fairly charged with responsi- 
bility for the escape of the malefactors. The suggestion was then 
made that his highness would serve the cause of humanity and justice 
by ordering the most energetic measures to be taken for the appre- 
hension of the robbers. 

By a communication. No. 71235, June 13, 1883, his highness was 
good enough to answer the note of the legation, and give the pleas- 

' This is an exact copy of the ofhcial documents as published by 
the State Department, capitalization included. 

l6g ' 



I/O "The Crisis in Turkey, 

ing intelligence that the governor-general had succeeded in discover- 
ing the goods taken from the two gentlemen, and that the robbers 
had been arrested and delivered up to justice. This information his 
highness reported as derived from the governor-general. 

This report the legation found it necessary to correct; and for that 
purpose it addressed a second note to his highness, the minister of 
foreign affairs, No, 179, dated September 10, 1883, declaring that the 
robbers had not been arrested, and that the goods and money taken 
from Messrs. Knapp and Reynolds had been returned to them, but in 
small parts. Under impression that it vi^as yet possible to obtain the 
powerful assistance of the Sublime Porte in bringing the thieves and 
assassins to justice, the legation in the same note proceeded to give 
the full particulars of the affair, both those connected with the as- 
sault and those descriptive of the action of the governor-general. Of 
the assault, it remarked that Messrs, Knapp and Reynolds, accepting 
the assurance of the governor-general that the roads were perfectly 
safe, set out on their journey without a guard of zaptiehs. They put 
up for a night at a house where there was present Moussa Bey, son 
of Meza Bey, an influential Kurdish chief. When they took their 
coffee they failed to send a cup of it to the said Moussa, who feeling 
himself insulted by the inattention, took four assistants and next day 
waylaid the gentlemen, one of whom, Mr. Knapp, they beat with 
clubs until they supposed him dead. Moussa Bey, with his own 
hand, cut down Dr. Reynolds, giving him ten cuts with a sword. 
The two were then bound and dragged into the bushes and there left 
to die. That there might be no excuse, such as that the murderers 
were unknown, the legation gave his highness the names of the sub- 
ordinate assassins and their places of abode, Sherif Oglon Osman 
and Iskan Oglon Hassan, both of the village of Movnok. A third 
one was pointed out as the servant of Moussa Bey, living in the vil- 
lage of Kabiaa. Of the action of the governor-general the legation 
said further that when the affair was reported to him he made a show 
of action by sending zaptiehs to arrest the robbers, but, singular to 
remark, he selected Meza Bey, the father of Moussa, to take charge 
of the party. Going to the village of Auzont, Meza Bey pointed out 
four Kurds of another tribe as the guilty men, took them into cus- 
tody and carried them for identification to Messrs. Knapp and Rey- 
nolds, who said they were not the assailants. 

During the night, in Aozou, a bundle was thrown through a window 
into a room occupied by the police, which on examination proved to 



Appendix, lyi 



contain a portion of the stolen goods. With this the governor-gen- 
eral rested from his efforts and dispatched to his highness the minis- 
ter of foreign affairs, that the stolen goods were recovered and 
returned, and the felons captured and punished. This report, the 
legation took the liberty of informing his highness, was not true, also 
that the chief of the assassins, Moussa Bey, was still at large ; and 
to emphasize its statement, the legation further said to his highness, 
that the details it communicated were current through all the region 
of Bitlis, having been first given out by Moussa himself. The lega- 
tion then, in the same note, exposed the maladministration of the 
governor-general in language plain as respect for his highness, the 
minister, and for the Sublime Porte would permit, and suggested as 
the only means of accomplishing anything like redress that a brave 
impartial officer be sent to Bitlis to investigate the conduct of the 
governor and take the affair in his own hands. " Such a step," it 
was added, " might serve to save the lives of many Christians," and 
it was further represented that "could the assassins be brought to 
just sentence it would unquestionably lessen the demand for indem- 
nity which otherwise it would be the duty of the legation to present 
against the Imperial Government in this connection." 

On November 7, 1883, the legation of the United States, by a third 
note, No. 184, communicated to his highness, the minister of foreign 
affairs, that the governor-general of Bitlis had confronted four per- 
sons with Mr. Knapp for identification, and that that gentleman had 
recognized Moussa Bey as one of those who had robbed and wounded 
him. The legation of the United States then expressed a hope that 
the minister of foreign affairs would give proper orders for bringing 
Moussa Bey and his companions in crime before the tribunals for 
trial. 

Still later, on November 12, 1883, the legation of the United 
States addressed a fourth note, No. 185, to his highness, the minister 
of foreign affairs, detailing again the circumstances of the attempted 
murder of Messrs. Knapp and Reynolds, and representing the un- 
trustworthiness of the governor-general by charging that Moussa Bey 
had already obtained from him assurances of immunity in the event 
of a trial and conviction. 

His highness, the minister, was then requested that, if it was 
decided to maintain the governor-general at his post, orders be given 
for the transfer of the criminals to Constantinople for trial. 

The three notes last named of the legation of the United States 



172 The Crisis in Turkey. 



have not been answered by his highness, the minister of foreign 
affairs, except in a note, dated December 8, 18S3, in which he is 
pleased to renew assurances based upon telegrams from the governor- 
general, which are utterly unreliable. 

Wherefore, abandoning hope of justice through the governor- 
general of Bitlis, and the judicial tribunals of the empire, the legation 
of the United States finds itself compelled to change its form of ap- 
plication for redress, and demand of the Sublime Porte indemnity in 
behalf of Messrs. Knapp and Reynolds, for the former ;^i, 500, and 
for the latter, because of the more serious nature of his injuries, 

;i^2,000. 



THE POSITION TAKEN IN WASHINGTON. 

(Foreign Relations of the United States, 1884, p. 544.) 

No. 419. 

Mr. Frelinghnysen to Mr. Wallace. 

(No. 153.) Department of State, 

Washington, February ij, 1884. 

Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 317, of the 
25th ultimo, relative to the case of the Rev. Mr. Knapp and Dr. 
Reynolds, murderously attacked by Kurds near Bitlis, and to say 
that, after a careful consideration of all the facts before the Depart- 
ment, the inaction of the governor of Bitlis and the failure of the 
supreme Government to force him to undertake such measures as the 
case evidently demanded, must be regarded as a denial of justice. 
While this Government is always averse to making money demands 
for indemnity in countries whose administration of justice may differ 
from our own, the Department feels compelled to resort to this 
remedy under circumstances which manifestly make the local officers 
and the Government of the Porte responsible for the failure to do 
justice in this case. 

The action reported in your dispatch is, consequently, approved. 
I am, &c., 

Fred'k T. Frelinghuysen. 



Appendix. 1 73 

THE POSITION TAKEN IN CONSTANTINOPLE. 

General Lew Wallace is understood to have been emphatically 
a persona grata as U. S. Minister to Turkey, in fact to have en- 
joyed, to a very exceptional degree, the personal confidence and 
friendship of His Majesty the present Sultan. The following quota- 
tion will show what treatment even he received in the discharge of 
his official duties in the case under consideration : 

From the Regular Correspondent of the Tribune. 

C*>NSTANTiNOPLE, March i, 1884. 

The Porte, in deciding how far it is safe to affront foreign Gov- 
ernments, has even ranked the United States below some of the 
European States. The Porte during the past year has treated Gen- 
eral Wallace as if he were the representative of a Danubian Princi- 
pality. Remonstrance after remonstrance against fresh violations of 
the treaties it has left unanswered, and it has refpeatedly omitted the 
courtesy of a bare acknowledgment of their receipt. In fact, Turkey 
has been relying upon the distance of the United States. Perhaps its 
officials even suppose that the American navy is afraid to risk adven- 
tures so far from home as the coasts of the Levant. 

General Wallace found it necessary, for the sake of the safety of 
American citizens in Turkey, to press for some definition of the situa- 
tion. During nearly five weeks he had been refused a personal 
interview with the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the ground of 
" indisposition." During all that time the representative of that Min- 
ister declined to enter upon any discussion of the important questions 
at issue. Four times the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United 
States had been turned away from the door of the Sublime Porte by 
the refusal of the Grand Vizier to see him. Each time plausible 
reasons were assigned which seemed to render any insistance on the 
part of the General uncourteous. Yet it became daily more evident 
that all these plausible excuses for declining negotiation on the inju- 
ries done by Turkey to American commerce and to American citizens 
were part of a settled purpose not to redress the wrongs. — New York 
Semi-Weekly Tribune, March 28, 1884, 



174 The CiHsis in Turkey, 

THE RESULT. 

The ten years that have elapsed since the above was written clearly 
show that what seemed then to be a *' settled purpose " has become 
the settled policy of the Ottoman Government in regard to Americans 
and their rights in Turkey. 

In regard to the outcome of the case of Messrs. Knapp and Ray- 
nolds, the humiliating fact must be recorded that not one cent of the 
indemnity demanded by the United States of America has to this day 
been obtained. The monster, Moussa Bey, was allowed by the 
Turkish Government to continue his outrages on the Armenian vil- 
lages of the great Moosh plain, until his record became so appalling, 
that under European pressure the Porte summoned him to Constanti- 
nople, where he was entertained as the Sultan's guest. He was 
whitewashed by the courts, but the Sultan was prevailed upon to 
invite him to make a pilgrimage to Medina at his expense, and there 
spend the remainder of his days in religious exercises. 



APPENDIX B. 
U. S. CONSULATES IN EASTERN TURKEY. 

The following petition was recently presented to the Hon. Walter 
Q. Gresham, wSecretary of State, and to the Senate and House of 
Representatives of the United States of America, for the establish- 
ment of Q. S. Consulates at Erzerum and Harpoot. The necessary 
legislation has been promptly enacted, for which the thanks of all 
Americans in Turkey is due to His Excellency the President, to the 
Secretary of State and to members of both Houses of Congress. 

Washington, D. C, Jan. 3, 1895. 
Apropos to the recent massacre of five thousand Armenians in 
Turkey, it is clearly inexpedient for the United States to mix up in 
the Eastern Question. But it is equally clear that the duty of pro- 
tecting a large body of izative born American citizens constantly sub- 
jected to danger^ injury and insult ht that land is not complicated by 
any Moizroe Doctrtjze. In their interests, attention is called to this 
brief statement of facts, and to a practical request for consular pro- 
tection. 

1. Number of Individuals and Interests Involved. 
Distributed in thirty of the principal cities of Asiatic Turkey alone, 

there is a permanent body of tzao hundred and fifty Americans^ not 
including their children, who hold over two million dollars of Ameri- 
can property for residence and the use of their educational, medical, 
publishing and religious enterprises. 

These figures do not cover the large commercial interests of Ameri- 
cans in Turkey, for which statistics are not at hand. 

2. Nature and Extent of the Danger to which they 
are Exposed, 

There are two sources of danger : first, the lawlessness of numerous 
highwaymen who infest the country, and of the fanatical Moslem 

175 



17^ The Crisis in Ttirkey, 

population of the cities ; and second, the hostility of Turkish 
officials, who have repeatedly failed to restrain, and in some cases 
have even encouraged attacks upon the lives and property of American 
citizens. 

3. Evidence of this Dangerous Condition. 

So far back as June 2gth, i8Sr, Secretary Blaine, in official instruc- 
tions to Minister Wallace at Constantinople, wrote : 

" Your attention v/ill doubtless be prominently and painfully 
drawn to the insecurity of the lives and property of foreign travelers 
in Turkey, and the failures of the authorities to prevent or repress 
outrages upon American citizens by wayside robbers and murderers, 
or even to execute its own lav/s in the rare instances of the perpetra- 
tors of such outrages being brought to justice. I cannot take a better 
text on which to base this instruction, than the accompanying copy 
of a letter addressed to the President by a number of American resi- 
dents in Turkey. Its statements are known to be entirely within the 
truth, and can be verified abundantly from the files of your legation. 
They show in simple yet forcible language, the insecurity of traveling 
in that country, and the instances to the number of eighty within the 
past two years, when Ajnerican citizens have been robbed and 
beaten by lawless marauders. On these occasions the lives of the 
assailed have been at the mercy of the robbers and, in one instance 
at least, the taking of life preceded the robbery." — Foreign Rela- 
tions of the United States 1881. 

The above extract refers to outrages in Western Asia Minor and 
the vicinity of Constantinople, but it is well known that in the 
Eastern and interior part of Turkey, where many of us live, the in- 
security is greater and has steadily increased, dtiring the thirteen 
years that have elapsed since the above facts were admitted by the State 
Departi7zeizt. 

The murderous attack by a Kurdish chief in person, which nearly 
cost Dr. G. C. Raynolds, of Van his life, and for which no indemnity 
zaas ever obtained, though the assailant was positively identified in 
court, is reported in full in Foreign Relations of the United States, 
1883, 1884, and 1890. 

The arrest and indignities inflicted upon Mr. Richardson of Erz- 
erum, by the Governor-General, for which no apology even was ever 
secured, are related in Foreign Relations of the United States l8gi. 

The burning of Marsovan College by an unrestrained Turkish mob 



Appendix. 177 

and the danger to the lives of many Ainerican residents is found in 
Foreign Relatioits of the United States 1893. 

More cases of injury and insult, may be found in the same ofificial 
records. But in many other instances it has been felt to be useless 
and inexpedient to even report them. The absence of any American 
representative to substantiate and vindicate our rights on the ground, 
and the hopelessness of securing anything but further injury by trying 
to press our claims, often drives us to the humiliating necessity of 
suffering injustice with scaixely a protest. 

THE REQUEST. 

We feel that the condition shown by the above evidence, not to 
add more, abundantly justifies a renewed request for some Consular 
protection in the Eastern part of Turkey, for the American citizens 
permanently residing there in the prosecution of lawful pursuits. 
Our present exposed and helpless condition is clearly set forth in a 
communication from the United States Legation at Constantinople, 
to the State Department : "It may not be doubted that the absence 
of an American Consul at Erzroom leaves our citizens there singularly 
destitute of means to vindicate their rights and protect their interests ; 
this is the more regrettable as Erzroom is a missionary station of con- 
siderable importance, and situated in a province where official pro- 
tection is most frequently and urgently needed. The British Consul 
there is instrticted to act ' unofficially ' for our citizens, but his right 
to represent them is not recognized by the Ottoman authorities ; the 
obvious consequence is, that when his good off ces are most needed, they 
are of least avail." Foreign Relations of United States i8gi. 

We are thus seen to be cut off from Consular protection of any 
kind. The nearest U. S. Consul, Mr. Jewett of Sivas, an excellent 
man, is unavailable for us for three reasons : first, the delay and 
difficulty in communicating with him on account of our isolation, and 
the very circuitous post-routes, in case the local authorities were kind 
enough not to intercept our letters, as they have repeatedly, even the 
official correspondence of the United States Minister {Foreign Re- 
lations of the U. S. 1893); second, the distance and methods of 
travel are such that probably from one to two months would elapse 
after any outrage, before the Sivas Consul could be notified and 
arrive ; third, the Consul at Sivas could not leave his post without 
neglecting the large American interests in Asia Minor. 

12 



I j^ The Crisis in Turkey, 

Aside from being needed when special difficulties do occur, it is 
obvious that the mere presence of a United States Consul on the 
ground would have a marked effect in deterring both the lawless and 
fanatical elements, and the officials, who have never seen the stars and 
stripes, from repeating acts which have caused much injury to the 
interests of American citizens, and have been the occasion of tedious 
and zinpleasajtt diplomatic correspondence between the two countries. 
The expense of living in Turkey is unusually low. 

In view of all the foregoing facts, it is urgently requested that 
American Consuls be located at Erzerum and Harpoot. These cities 
are large centres of population and of American interests, and the 
seat of Provincial Governors. They have large commercial and 
strategic importance, and as good facilities for communication by 
post, telegraph, or private messenger as the country affords. From 
Erzerum, Bitlis and Van could also be cared for, while Mardin and 
Mosul would naturally be under Harpoot, and thus the Americans of 
that whole territory would be brought within two or three week's 
journey of Consular protection. 

We are from seven hundred to one thousand miles from Constan- 
tinople, which means a journey of three to six weeks. The fact that 
at least ^,000 men, women and children in our midst have been mas- 
sacred, and this fact kept nearly three months from the civilized worlds 
is a significant hint as to our isolation and danger. The articles in 
the last Harper s Weekly, Dec. 29, and in the Review of Revieivs^ 
Jan. 1895, give much light on the situation. 

With shame it must be recorded that, although Congress, in Janu- 
ary, 1895, authorized United States consulates at Erzerum and Har- 
poot, the Executive branch of the Government has failed to secure 
their establishment. Messrs. Chilton and Hunter, both excellent 
men, were sent to Turkey as properly accredited consuls. But the 
Porte refused to recognize them, and the United States, as usual, 
swallowed the insult. 

This course so emboldened the Turkish Government, that it pro- 
ceeded in November, 1895, to burn and bombard the important 
American settlement at Plarpoot. 

These soon followed the burning of an American building in 
Marash. 

The timid and tardy manner in which indemnity is now being 
sought, is likely to lead to greater insolence by Turkey, and the 
ultimate ruin of American interests throughout the Empire. 



APPENDIX C. 

DR. HAMLIN's explanation. 

(Netv York Herald^ December 20, iSg^.J 

To the Editor of the Herald : 

A cutting from the Herald has been sent to me to-day containing a 
letter of His Excellency, Mavroyeni, on the Armenian atrocities. I 
must strongly object to the use he makes of a letter of mine in the 
Boston Congregaiionalisi of last year (December 23, 1893). 

The object of that letter was to show the absurdity of the revolu- 
tionary plotters. The Armenians are a noble race, but few in num- 
ber, scattered, and unarmed. The Turkish Government has never 
had the least fear of any such movement. It knows well that there is 
no place in the Empire where one thousand or even one hundred Ar- 
menians could assemble with hostile intent. And besides they have 
no arms, and they are not accustomed to their use. They would be 
lambs in the midst of wolves. Every one knows this who knows any- 
thing of Turkey outside of Constantinople, 

It is to be greatly regretted that the Ottoman Ambassador should 
attempt to cover up the path of these horrid atrocities which have 
agitated the whole Christian world and for which Turkey must give 
account. It were far better to deplore the fact and work for justice 
and judgment. It may be the time has passed when such deeds of 
blood and torture, committed upon unarmed men, women and chil- 
dren, can be condoned by the civilized world. 

The plots of the revolutionists were harmless as to any effective 
force, but were very pernicious in arousing fanaticism. The fact 
that a few hair-brained young men in foreign lands had plotted a revo- 
lution was a sufficient reason in the view of Moslem fanaticism for 
devoting the whole race to destruction. It was this which I feared 
and it is this which has happened. 

179 



i8o The Crisis in Turkey, 

Another object of the letter, from which His Excellency has quoted, 
was to draw attention to the fact that this revolutionary movement is 
a game which Russia is playing in her own interests. And she has 
played it well. She has again caught Turkey in her trap. The 
whole civilized world will now approve of her marching in with force 
to stop the slaughter of an industrious, peaceful, unarmed peasantry. 
If Russia enters, it will be with professions of great kindness toward 
the Sultan. It will be to aid him in his well known benevolent in- 
tentions in the government of his Christian subjects ! But she will 
call the Armenians to her standard and will arm and train them and 
they will prove a brave and valiant soldiery. Some of the ablest 
generals of the Russian army have been Armenians. Thus armed 
and trained, with the aid of their Russian allies, they will defend 
their own homes in the Sassoun or any other district. 

Turkey has brought this upon herself. His Excellency is a Greek 
gentleman, and has a natural sympathy with Russia. His influence 
has been to magnify the revolutionary plots instead of showing, as 
my letter did, their insignificance and their Russian character, and 
has led his government to give to them an importance which seems 
absurd. The Turkish Government has had sufficient opportunity to 
study and understand Russia since the Treaty of 1829, and again of 
1833. Have her trusted advisers been true to her, or have they 
betrayed her iiiterests ? 

The civilized and Christian world awaits with profound and fixed 
attention the solution of the question whether bloody, fanatical vio- 
lence or law shall reign over the Eastern regions of the Turkish 
Empire. 

Cyrus Hamlin. 

Lexington, Mass., December 18, 1894. 



APPENDIX D. 



THE CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS. 



With what intelligence and religious toleration the censorship of 
the press is conducted may be judged from examples found in an 
official document : 

" The quotation, in religious books, of the words of Scripture for 
proof or illustration, has been subjected to the will of the censor ; and 
even the printing of religious books has been objected to on the 
ground that since Christians are graciously allowed to use the Holy 
Bible, they need no other books of religion. Appeal from the deci- 
sions of the censors is practically unavailing. This censor insists 
that the Scriptural phrase ' Kingdom of Christ ' may not be used by 
Christians. 

" The index list of the Bible lessons for 1893 is simply a table of 
contents prepared by the British Sunday School Union. The cen- 
sors have refused to permit the publication of this index list, unless 
some fifty titles are erased, or modified into a form at variance with 
the matter of the lessons, or expanded to a degree impossible in a brief 
table of contents, for example : St. Lukeiv., 14-21, ' Gospel liberty.' 
The word 'liberty' must be erased. Jeremiah xxxiii., 7-16, 'Sor- 
row turned to joy.' This title must be suppressed. Haggai ii., i-g, 
'Encouraging the people.' This title, which refers to the Divine 
encouragement given to the people in the work of rebuilding the 
temple in the days of Zerubbabel, must be erased. 

"Psalm xxxiii., 10-22, ' Wicked devices frustrated.' This title must 
be stricken out. 

"Esther iv., 1-9, 'Sorrow in the palace.' This title must be 
suppressed. 

" Romans iv., 1-8, ' Saved by grace.' This title must be modified 
to read * Saved from sin by grace.' 

181 



1 82 The Crisis in Turkey, 

"Psalm xxxviii., 8-15, ' Hope in distress.' This title must be 
suppressed. 

" Joshua i., 1-9, ' Fear not.' This title can not be allowed. 

" Romans viii., 31-39, ' Rejoicing in persecution.' This title must 
be erased. 

" Romans xv., 25-33, ' A. benevolent object.' This title cannot be 
allowed to stand unless the object is stated." — Foreign Relations of 
the United States, 1893. 

We learn that four months after the complaint was made the par- 
ticular points specified above were arranged. But as soon as foreign 
pressure was relaxed the activity of the Censor revived, and is now 
more intolerable than ever. A gentleman of long experience and 
intimate knowledge writing from behind the scenes within a month, 
states : " The Censorship of the Press is so severe as to amount 
almost to a prohibition. At Constantinople a most reckless and 
destructive mutilation of books goes on ; and, contrary to the ex- 
pressed utterances of the Porte guaranteeing religious liberty. Chris- 
tian doctrines are expunged or changed, so as, at times, to become 
ridiculous and false. The men appointed as Censors of the Press 
seem to be utterly ignorant of all Christian literature and history and 
their object is to make all books conform to the doctrines of Islam. 

" The religious weekly of the American Mission in Syria, which 
had been published for thirty years, was suppressed for a whole year, 
no reason being given ; and when the permit was finally secured, it 
was accompanied by puerile and humiliating conditions." 

Some special departments of literature, such as history and poetry, 
are forbidden, wholesale, by the Censor. Many of the Censor's deci- 
sions and the grounds on which they are based would be most laugh- 
able, but for the fact that they are part of an attempt to throttle and 
starve the hungry and growing minds of millions. 



PART II. 

THE MOHAMMEDAN REIGN OF 
TERROR IN ARMENIA. 

CONTAINING THE LATEST ACCOUNTS OP THE MAS- 
SACRES ; THRILLING SPEECH OF THE HON. W. E. 
GLADSTONE ; RELIEF ^WORK OF CLARA BAR- 
TON, DR. GRACE KIMBALL AND OTHERS ; 
THE HISTORY OF TURKEY; MAN- 
NERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE 
PEOPLE, ETC., ETC. 



1S3 



NOTE. 

To guard our readers against the prejudiced and often 
unfounded statements that have appeared in regard to Arme- 
nia, and the terrible massacres that have been perpetrated 
there, we have used great care as to the source of the material 
here presented, and desire to express our thanks to The Inde- 
pendent for much valuable information, the general accuracy 
of which is unquestioned. 



184 



CHAPTER XIIT. 

Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

The first part of this volume, by Frederick Davis Greene, 
M. A., is fully endorsed by the eminent names found in the 
first chapter. Dark and horrible as the record is, it does not 
comprise the complete story of those deeds of pillage, murder 
and outrage in Armenia which have shocked the whole civil- 
ized world, and awakened universal horror and indignation. 
We present additional details of these bloody massacres, and 
also trace the causes which led to the receipt outbreak of Mo- 
hammedan fanaticism and crime. 

The following facts are indisputable : The Armenians, in 
hundreds of cities and villages throughout an area five hun- 
dred miles long and three hundred miles wide have been 
given over to murder, rape and robbery. The latest trust- 
worthy estimates from Constantinople place the actual deaths 
at 40,000, the great majority being males, the bread-winners 
of the people. Of the survivors, half a million have been 
reduced to extreme poverty, and two hundred and fifty thous- 
and, mostly women and children, are in danger of perishing 
from starvation, exposure and sickness, unless they will 
accept Mohammedanism. 

Misrepresentation of Facts. 

Persistent efforts are made to obscure the situation and to 

alienate sympathy from the Armenians on the ground that 

they are rebels. Some color has been given to this idea by 

the wild talk of a few desperate Armenians outside of Turkey 

185 



186 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

but, with the one exception of the isolated and inaccessible 
town of Zeitoun, there never has been anything that can be 
called an Armenian insurrection. The very idea of such a 
thing is ridiculous ; for, in the first place, the Armenians are 
only one-tenth of the Sultan's subjects, and nowhere consti- 
tute a majority of the population except in the city of Van, 
where, strange to say, there has been no outbreak at all. 
Secondly, they are exclusively a commercial and agricultural 
people, possessing neither arms, nor a knowledge of their use. 
Third, they are people of sense, and know that their only hope 
is through European intervention. 

WJiy then Jiave they been massacred? Because Europe did 
intervene and compel the Sultan to accept a Scheme of Re- 
forms which would give the Christians equality with Moham- 
medans before the law, and a proportionate share in the 
judicial, civil and police administration in the six eastern 
provinces. 

Motive of the Massacres. 

While the Sultan outwardly accepted this scheme, he could 
not allow its execution without endangering his authority as 
religious head, and the supremacy of the Turks, who are the 
ruling class ; for in p^dnciple the " Infidel " has no right to live 
in a Mohammedan State, except in subjection, and in practice 
the active, capable Armenian would soon outstrip the stolid, 
non-progressive Turk if given a fair chance. The only course 
left, from the Turkish point of view, was to diminish and par- 
alyze the Armenian population to such an extent as to render 
the Scheme of Reforms inoperative. This was immediately 
and thoroughly accomplished within one month after the Sul- 
tan gave his consent to the Scheme of Reforms on October 
1 6th, 1895. 

While the motive of the massacres at first was political, 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 187 

Moslem fanaticism and hope of plunder were kindled, and this 
accounts for the extremes of cruelty and brutality with which 
the work was done. But now that it has been accomplished, 
the fires of race hatred and lust have, to some extent, burned 
themselves out, the massacres have ceased, and *' order " will 
be restored. The Crime of the European powers consists in 
not having guaranteed the successful execution of the reforms 
they demanded by a prompt and determined use of force. 
This would have prevented all bloodshed. 

Account by an Eye-witness. 

The following description of the present condition of Arme- 
nia is furnished by Mr. E. J. Dillon, the special Commissioner 
of the London Daily Telegraph. It is the account given by a 
close observer who has been upon the ground, and is accurate 
and truthful in all its horrifying details : 

A pretty story is told of a little girl, who, fearing to lie in 
bed in the dark, begged her mother not to take the candle 
away until sleep should render it needless. " What are you 
afraid of, darling?" asked the strong-minded parent. ''Of 
darkness," was the reply. " But remember, dear, that God is 
here in the room with you, and God is light itself Pie will 
stay with you all night to keep you company." The silence 
that followed this dogmatic announcement seemed to show 
that the intended effect had been produced, until it was softly 
broken by the sweet voice of the child : " Then please, 
mamma, take God away and leave the candle." 

The attitude of the Armenian population in Turkey toward 
the humane peoples of Western Europe, who^ to fiendish tor- 
tures and bloody massacres, hopefully oppose well-timed 
expressions of righteous indignation and moral sympathy, 
offers considerable analogy to the frame of mind of that untu- 
tored child. " We can dispense with your sympathy and pity 




EARLY PORTRAIT OF ABDUL HAMID, SULTAN OF TURKEY. 
188 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 189 

if only you guarantee us security for life and property." So 
reasons the grateful Armenian. The impartial outsider, ac- 
quainted with the horrible condition of country and people, 
would naturally go a step further, and fearlessly affirm that 
the expression of sympathy at public meetings, followed, as in 
England, by supine inactivity, is not merely inferior to effect- 
ive material aid, but is positively disastrous. 

Turkish Hatred of Armenians. 

Formerly the Turks disliked the Armenians, and the blood- 
bath of Sassoun offers a fair indication of the vehemence of 
their feeling. At present, after the wanton humiliation in- 
flicted upon them by the European friends of their victims, 
they loathe the very name of Armenia, and deem no cruelties 
"sufficient to satisfy their outraged self-love. The Vali (Gov- 
ernor-General) of Erzeroum, when the foreign consuls of that 
city lately brought an unusually crying case of injustice to his 
notice, told the Dragomans that the Turkish Government and 
Armenian people stood to each other in the relation of hus- 
band and wife, and that outsiders who felt pity for the wife 
when her husband maltreated her, would do wisely and well 
to abstain from interfering. And the remark is quite true, 
if the pair are to go on living together ; for the brutal husband 
can always choose his own time and place to vent his feelings 
on his helpless mate. 

And this is what is being actually done in Turkish Arme- 
nia. Under the eyes of the Russian, English, and French 
delegates at Moush, the witnesses who had the courage to 
speak the truth to the representatives of the Powers were 
thrown into prison, and not a hand was raised to protect 
them; and within a stone's throw of the foreign consuls and 
missionaries, loyal Armenians were hung up by the heels, the 
hair of their heads and beards plucked out one by one, their 



190 Appalling Condition of Armenia, 

bodies branded with red-hot irons and defiled in beastly ways 
that can neither be described nor hinted at in Christian coun- 
tries, their wives dishonored in their presence, and their 
daughters raped before their eyes. And all that the philan- 
thropic English nation has to offer these, its proteges, is elo- 
quent indignation and barren sympathy. Would it not have 
been much more benevolent to hush up the massacre of Sas- 
soun and ignore the Pits of Death than to irritate the Turk to 
the point of madness and then leave him free to vent his fury 
upon Christians who are shielded only by sentimental elo- 
quence ? 

A Costly Blunder. 

And yet the duty of England is simplicity itself; she 
should either put a speedy end to the horrors of Turkish Da- 
homey, or publicly proclaim her inability to fulfil her obliga- 
tions in Armenia, at the same time repudiating her gigantic 
engagement to maintain the integrity of the Turkish Empire 
in Asia. For as it was a grievous blunder to raise this Ar- 
menian Question without having first made sure that she 
could work it out to a satisfactory issue, it is little less than a 
crime to give the Turks the needful time to carry out their 
nefarious plans by refusal to look the facts in the face. 

Those who are familiar with the condition of the five prov- 
inces and their Christian inhabitants will unhesitatingly acqui- 
esce in this view of the subject; for those who are not, the 
following brief sketch may prove instructive : 

Turkey's real sway in Armenia dates from the year 1847, 
when Osman Pasha gave the final cotip de grace to the secular 
power of the Koordish Derebeks in the five south-eastern 
provinces (Van, Bitlis, Moush, Bayazed, and Diarbekir). 
During that long spell of nearly fifty years, we can clearly 
distinguish two periods : one of shameful misgovernment 
(1847-1891), and the other (1892-1894) of frank extermina- 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 191 

tion. Suasion or remonstrance may do much to remedy the 
abuses that flow from the former system ; force alone can 
achieve anything against the latter. And in this sense Lord 
Salisbury's expressed view of the matter is absolutely correct. 
In the year 1891 the Sublime Porte, fearing serious dangers 
from the promised introduction of reforms into Armenia, and 
from the anticipated hostility in war time of the Christians 
living in provinces bordering upon Russia, resolved to kill 
two birds with one stone, and created the so-called Hamidieh 
cavalry, composed exclusively of Koords. It was an applica- 
tion of the principle on which rebels and rioters throw open 
the prison doors and invite convicts to rob and kill the mem- 
bers of the upper classes. The plan as propounded by some 
of the highest officials of the Empire was that the Armenians 
were to be driven out of the border lands, such as Alashkerd, 
their places to be taken by Mohammedans, that their numbers 
in all the five provinces were to be so considerably reduced 
that the need of special reforms for them should pass away, 
and that in case of war the Koords should act as a counter- 
weight to the Cossacks. 

Armenians Threatened with Extermination. 

This plain policy of extermination has been faithfully carried 
out and considerably extended from that day to this, and 
unless speedily arrested^ will undoubtedly lead to a final solu- 
tion of the Armenian problem ; but a solution which will 
disgrace Christianity and laugh civilization to scorn. The 
enlisted Koords were left in their native places, exempted 
from service, supplied with arms, invested with the inviolability 
of ambassadors, and paid with the regularity characteristic of 
the Sublime Porte. And they fulfilled their mission with 
scrupulous exactness : robbing rich Armenians, looting houses, 
burning corn and hay, raiding villages, lifting cattle, raping 



192 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

young girls of tender age, dishonoring married women, driving 
away entire populations, and killing all who were manly or 
mad enough to attempt to resist. Armenians are now among 
the poorest and most wretched people on the globe. 

Perhaps the Turkish authorities did not foresee, nor Turkish 
justice approve, these results? The authorities not only 
expected them, but aided and abetted, incited and rewarded 
those who actually committed them ; and whenever an 
Armenian dared to complain, not only was he not listened to 
by the officials whom he paid to protect him, but he was 
thrown into a fetid prison and tortured and outraged in 
strange and horrible ways for his presumption and insolence. 

The massacre of Sassoun itself is now proved to have been 
the deliberate deed of the representatives of the Sublime 
Porte, carefully planned and unflinchingly executed in spite 
of the squeamishness of Koordish brigands and the fitful 
gleams of human nature that occasionally made themselves 
felt in the hearts even of Turkish soldiers. 

To complain, therefore, of the insecurity of life and property 
in Armenia, so long as the country is irresponsibly governed 
by the Sublime Porte, is as reasonable as it would be for a 
soldier to object to the great danger to life and limb from the 
enemy's bullets during a sanguinary engagement. The result 
complained of is precisely the object aimed at, and its com- 
pleteness the most conclusive proof of the efficiency of the 
means employed. An eminent foreign statesman who is com- 
monly credited with Turcophile sentiments of uncompromis- 
ing thoroughness, lately remarked to me in private conversa- 
tion that Turkish rule in Armenia might be aptly described 
as organized brigandage, legalized murder, and meritorious 
immorality. 

Protests against such a system may be right and proper, 
but they can hardly be considered profitable. A philanthro- 



Appalling Condition of Ai^menia. 193 

pist visiting a prison may feel shocked when he discovers one 
of the convicts with his hands and feet tied with cords ; but 
he will scarcely spend time in complaining if he learns that 
the prisoner has been condemned to death, and is about to 
be hanged by the executioner. 

The People Reduced to Poverty. 

The first step in carrying out the Plan of Extermination 
was the systematic impoverishment of the people. This is 
natural in a country whose officials are kept waiting eight or 
ten months for their salaries, and must then content them- 
selves with but a fraction of what is due. " I have not re- 
ceived a para * for the past twenty weeks, and I cannot buy 
even clothes," exclaimed the official who was told off to 
" shadow " me day and night in Erzeroum. " Do they pay 
you your salary regularly ?" I inquired of the head of the 
telegraph office at Kutek. " No, Effendi, not regularly," he 
replied; "I have not had anything now for fully eight months. 
Oh, yes, I have; a month's salary was given to me at Bairam."f 
*^ How do you manage to live, then ?" "' Poorly." *^ But you 
must have some money to go on with, or else you could not 
keep body and soul together?" "I have a little, of course, 
but not enough. Allah is good. You have now given me 
some money yourself" " Yes, but that is not for you ; it is 
for telegrams, and belongs to the State." 

" Well, my shadow will have grown considerably less before 
the State beholds the gleam of it. I keep for myself all money 
paid in by the public, I take it as instalments of my salary. 
It does not amount to very much. But whatever it happens 
to be, I pocket it." These men are, of course, petty officials, 
but their case is not essentially different from that of the 

* A Turkish coin. Forty paras are equivalent to twopence. 
-j- Bairam is the festival which follows the long fast of Ramazan, 
13 



194 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

majority of their betters, and judges, officers, deputy-governors, 
and valis, etc., are, to the full, as impecunious and incompar- 
ably more greedy. 

Tahsin Pasha, the late Governor-General of Bitlis, is a fair 
specimen of the high Turkish dignitary of the epoch of exter- 
mination. An avaricious skinflint, he was as cruel as Ugolino's 
enemy, Ruggieri, and as cold as Captain Maleger in Spenser's 
" Faery Queen." He cultivated a habit of imprisoning scores 
of wealthy Armenians, without any imputed charge or show 
of pretext. Liberty was then offered them in return for exor- 
bitant sums representing the greater part of their substance. 

Barbaric Tortures. 

Refusal to pay was followed by treatment compared with 
which the torture of the Jews in mediaeval England, or the 
agonies of the eunuchs of the princesses of Oude in modern 
India, were mild and salutary chastisements. Some men were 
kept standing up all day and night, forbidden to eat, drink or 
move. If they lost strength and consciousness, cold water or 
hot irons soon brought them round, and the work of coercion 
continued. 

Time and perseverance being on the side of the Turks, the 
Armenians generally ended by sacrificing everything that 
made life valuable, for the sake of exemption from maddening 
pain. It was a case of sacrificing or being sacrificed, and that 
which seemed the lesser of the two evils was invariably chosen. 

In the Vilayet of Bitlis several hundred Armenians who 
possessed money, cattle or crops, were arbitrarily imprisoned, 
and set free on the payment of large bribes. Some of them, 
unable to produce the money at once, were kept in the noisome 
dungeons until they raised the sum demanded, or were re- 
leased by death. About one hundred Armenian prisoners 
died in the prison of Bitljs alone. 



Appalling Condition of Armenia, 



195 



The following petition signed and sent to me — and if I mis- 
take not, also to the foreign delegates at Moush — from a well- 
known man whose name and address I publish, will help to 
convey some idea of how the Vali of Bitlis governed his 
province, and prospered the v/hile : " We, who have served the 
Turkish Government with absolute loyalty, are maltreated 
and oppressed, more particularly of late years, now by the 




PALACE OF THE SULTAN — CONSTANTINOPLE. 

Government itself, now by Koordish brigands. Thus last 
year (1894) I was suddenly arrested at my own house by 
Turkish police and gendarmes, who escorted me to the prison 
of Bitlis, where I was insulted and subjected to the most hor- 
rible tortures. Having been kept four months there, I was 
released on condition of paying ;^2250, by way of ransom. 

" No reason, no pretext has been given for this treatment. 
On my return home, I found my house in disorder, my affairs 



196 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

ruined, my means gone. My first thought was to appeal to 

the Turkish Government for redress, but I shrank from doing 

so, lest I should be condemned again. Hearing that you 

have come to Armenia for the purpose of investigating the 

condition of the people, I venture to request you, in God's 

name, to take notice of the facts of my case. Signed, Boghos 

Darmanian, of the village of Iknakhodja of the Kaza of 

Manazkerd." 

From Wealth to Want. 

In 1890, the village elder of Odandjor in Boolanyk, Abdal 
by name, was a wealthy man, as wealth goes in that part of 
the world. He possessed 50 buffaloes, 80 oxen, 600 sheep, 
besides horses, etc. The women of his family wore golden 
ornaments in their hair and on their breast, and he paid ^250 
a year in taxes to the treasury. That was in 1 890. In 1894 
he was a poverty-stricken peasant, familiar with misery and 
apprehensive of death from hunger. 

His village and those of the entire district had been plun- 
dered, and the inhabitants stripped, so to say, naked, the 
Turkish authorities smiling approval the while. During the 
year 1894, in the districts of Boolanyk and Moush alone, 
upwards often thousand head of cattle and sheep were driven 
off by the Koords. 

This was the method in vogue all over the country; the 
details varied according to the condition of things, places, and 
kinglets, but the means and end never varied. The result is 
the utter disappearance of wealth and the rapid spread of 
misery, so intense, so irremediable, so utterly loathsome in its 
moral and physical effects as to have inspired some of its 
victims with that wild courage akin to madness which always 
takes its rise in despair. 

Between the Vali or Governor-General and the Zaptieh or 
tax-gatherer the rungs of the administrative ladder are many, 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 197 

and to each and all of them some portion of the substance of 
industrious Armenians adheres. No doubt there are far worse 
things than the loss of one's property, and unemotional Eng- 
lishmen would rather save their sympathy for those who have 
endured them. 

But surely even that is bad enough when the outcome not 
of crime, accident, or carelessness, -but of shameless and 
defiant injustice, and where the loser has a family of some 
fifteen to twenty persons. And that the loss of property very 
often entailed far greater losses will be evident from some of 
the following facts : 

A Tale of Horror. 

In July, 1892, a captain of his Majesty's Hamidieh Cavalry, 
Idris by name, an ornament of the Hassnanlee tribe, came 
with his brother to demand a contribution of fodder from the 
inhabitants of Hamsisheikh. They accosted two of the 
Armenian notables, Alo and Hatchadoor, and ordered them 
to provide the hay required. " We do not possess such a 
quantity in the whole village," they replied. " Produce the 
hay without more ado, or I'll shoot you dead," exclaimed 
Idris. " But it does not exist, and we cannot create it." 
" Then die," said the gallant captain, and shot them dead on 
the spot. 

A formal complaint was lodged against Idris, and the 
Kaimakam, to his credit, arrested him and kept him in prison 
for four weeks, when the valiant Koord having paid the usual 
bribe was set at liberty. About thirty similar murders were 
committed in the same district of Boolanyk during that sea- 
son, with the same publicity and the same impunity. 

At first the Armenians were wont to complain when their 
relatives or friends were killed, in the hope that in some cases 
the arm of the law might be raised to punish the murderers 



198 



Appalling Condition of Armenia, 



and thus produce a deterrent effect upon others who 
might feel disposed to go and do likewise. But they were 
very soon weaned of this habit, by methods the nature of 
which may be gathered from the following incident : 

In July, 1892, a Koord named Ahmed Ogloo Bahal rode 
over to Govandook (District of Khnouss) and drove off four 




CATHEDRAL (nOW THE MOSQUe) OF ST. SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE. 

oxen belonging to an Armenian named Mookho. In 1892 the 
law forbidding Christians to carry arms was not yet strictly 
observed, and Mookho, possessing a revolver, and seeing that 
the Koord was about to use his, fired. Both weapons went 
off at once, and both men fell dead on the spot. What then 
happened was this : Nineteen Armenians of the village, none 
of whom had any knowledge of what had occurred, were 
arrested and put in jail and told that they would be released 
on payment of a heavy bribe. Ten paid it and were set free 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 195 

at once. The remainder, refusing, were kept in prison for a 
long time afterwards. None of the Koords were molested. 

"Why should Mohammedans be punished for killing 
Armenians ?" asked a Koordish brigand who was also a 
Hamidieh officer, of me. " It is unheard of." Why indeed ? 
That the relatives of the murdered people should be punished 
and punished severely for complaining of those who have 
made them widows or orphans seems meet and proper to the 
Mohammedan mind — perhaps because it is usual. 

Incidents of Cruelty. 

lu August, 1893, the Djibranlee Koords attacked the vil- 
lage of Kaghkik, plundered it, and wounded a merchant 
named Oannes, who was engaged in business in his shop. 
Next day Oannes went to the Deputy Governor (Kaimakam) 
in Khnoussaberd and lodged a complaint, whereupon the 
Kaimakam put him in prison for " lying." The sufferings in- 
flicted upon him in that hotbed of typhoid fever exceeded 
belief — ^but that is another story. 

After eight days his neighbors brought a Koord before the 
Kaimakam who bore out their evidence that Oannes had been 
really wounded in the manner described, and that he was not 
lying. Then, and then only, the authorities allowed the peo- 
ple to pay a bribe of ten pounds for the release of the 
wounded man. 

The inhabitants of Krtaboz (a village in Bassen,) told me 
several horrible stories of what they had to endure lately 
from the Koords, who drove off their twenty-three oxen, 
twenty-eight horses, sixty cows, and twenty sheep. One 
which illustrates the method of Turkish justice will suffice to 
give the reader an inkling of their nature. 

" Last May (1894) twelve mounted Hamidiehs attacked 
our village and seized our priest, Der David. They promised 



200 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

to release him if he paid them six pounds. He borrowed the 
sum, gave it to his captors and was set free. The troops fired 
upon the other villagers, who ran away. Next day Guil Beg 
went to Hassankaleh to complain to the authorities. They 
abused him, called him a liar, and ordered him to be impris- 
oned. After having spent forty days in the horrible hole 
called a prison, he was permitted to pay a bribe of seven 
pounds and go home." 

No Protection to Christians. 

There is no redress whatever for a Christian who has suf- 
fered in property, limb, or life at the hands of Mohammedans ; 
not because the law officers are careless or lethargic, but be- 
cause they are specially retained on the other side. And the 
proof of this, if any proof were needed, is that the complain- 
ants themselves are speedily punished for lodging an informa- 
tion against their persecutors. But whenever a Koord or a 
Turk is the victim of a " crime," or even an accident, the 
energy of the Government officials knows no bounds. In the 
spring of last year, when the snows were thawing and the waters 
rose high in the rivers and streams, some needy Koords were 
moving along the bank of the river, hard by Hussnaker. 

They were wretched beggars, askmg alms, and battling 
with fate. In an attempt to ford the river they were carried 
away and drowned. Forthwith the villagers were accused of 
having murdered them, and four Armenian notables were 
arrested and imprisoned in Hassankaleh on this trumpery 
charge, the real object of which was not disguised. After 
the lapse of seven or eight months the villagers were told that 
on payment of a bribe of ^375 the prisoners would be dis- 
charged. The money had to be scraped together and paid to 
the authorities, whereupon the men were released. I saw two 
of them, Atam and Dono, myself 



Appalling Condition of A 



rmenia. 



201 



The taxes levied upon Armenians are exorbitant ; the bribes 
that invariably accompany them, and are imposed by the Zap- 
tiehs, may swell to any proportions, and resume the most 
repugnant forms, while the methods employed to collect both 
constitute by them- 
selves a sufficient justi- 
fication for the sweep- 
ing away of Ottoman 
rule in Armenia. 

To give a fair in- 
stance of the different 
rates of taxation for 
Christians and Mo- 
hammedans in towns, 
it will suffice to point 
out that in Erzeroum, 
where there are 8,000 
Mohammedan houses, 
the Moslems pay only 
395,000 piastres, while 
the Christians, whose 
houses number but 
2,000, pay 430,000 pi- 
astres. 

In the country dis- 
tricts, everything, with marble staircase in the sultan's pal- 
out exception, is highly ^^e at Constantinople. 

taxed by the Government, and the heaviest burden of this 
legal exaction is light when compared with the extortion 
practiced by its agents, the Zaptiehs. A family, for instance, 
is supposed to contribute, say, twenty-five dollars, and fulfils 
its obligation. The Zaptiehs, however, ask for fifteen or 
twenty dollars more for themselves, and are met with a rash 




202 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

refusal. Negotiations, interlarded with violent and abusive 
language, ensue, and five dollars are accepted. But the Zap- 
tiehs' blood is up. 

In a week they return and demand the same taxes over 
again. The Armenians wax angry, protest and present their 
receipt; whereat the Zaptiehs laughingly explain that the 
document in question is no receipt but a few verses from a 
Turkish book. The villagers plead poverty and implore 
mercy. Greed, not compassion, moves the Zaptiehs to com- 
promise the matter for fifteen dollars more, but the money is 
not forthcoming. 

Then they demand the surrender of the young women and 
girls of the family to glut their brutal appetites, and refusal 
is punished with a series of tortures over which decency and 
humanity throw a veil of silence. Rape, and every kind of 
brutal outrage conceivable to the diseased mind of Oriental 
profligates, and incredible to the average European intelli- 
gence, varied perhaps with murder or arson, wind up the 
incident. 

These are Facts. 

I have seen and spoken with victims of these representa- 
tives of the Sublime Porte; I have inspected their wounds, 
questioned their families, interrogated their priests, their per- 
secutors, and their gaolers (some of them being incarcerated 
for complaining), and I unhesitatingly affirm, not merely that 
these horrors are real facts, but that they are frequent occur- 
rences. 

The following is the translation of an authentic document 
in my possession, signed and sealed by the inhabitants of 
Melikan (Kaza of Keghi), addressed recently to his Beatitude, 
the learned and saintly Metropolitan Archbishop of Erze- 
roum, a dignitary who enjoys the respect and esteem of friends 
and foes : 



Appalling Condition of Armenia, 203 

" For a long time past the four or five Zaptiehs charged 
with the collection ot the imperial taxes have chosen our 
village for their headquarters, and compel the inhabitants of 
the outlying country to come hither to pay their contribu- 
tions. They eat, drink, and feed their horses at our expense, 
undisguisedly showing that they are resolved to reduce us to 
beggary. 

" Lately seven other Zaptiehs, who had not even the pre- 
text of collecting the taxes, entered our village, beat the 
inhabitants, insulted the Christian religion, and dishonored 
our wives and daughters, after which they seized three men 
who protested — Boghos, Mardig, and Krikor — bound them 
wiih a twofold chain, and hung them up by the feet from the 
rafters. They left them in this position until the blood began 
to flow from their nostrils. These poor men fell ill in conse- 
quence. The Zaptiehs, however, declared publicly that they 
had treated the people thus merely in obedience to the special 
orders of the chief of the police. 

" We therefore appeal to imperial justice to rescue us from 
this unbearable position. The inhabitants of the village of 
Melikan, Kaza of Keghi. 

(Signed) Katshere. 

"26th March, 1895." 

Here is another petition from another village of the same 
Kaza, likewise addressed to the Metropolitan Archbishop of 
Erzeroum : 

" A number of Zaptiehs, on pretext of gathering the taxes, 
rode into our village at five o'clock Turkish time (about ten 
o'clock A. M.), broke open the doors of our dwellings, entered 
the inner apartments, clutched our wives and children, who 
were in a state of semi-nudity, and cast them into the road 
along with the couches on which they lay. 

" Then they beat and maltreated them most cruelly. Finally 
they selected over thirty of our women, shut them up in a 
barn, and wrought their criminal will upon them. Before 
leaving they took all the food and fodder we possessed, as is 



204 Appalling Condition of Armenia, 

their invariable custom. We beg to draw your attention to 
these facts, and to implore the imperial clemency. The in- 
habitants of the village of Arek, Kaza of Keghi. 
(Signed) 

MooRADiAN, Ressian, Berghoyan, Melkonian. 
"26th March, 1895." 

I was present myself in the house of an Armenian peasant, 
of the Village of Kipri Kieu, when a number of mounted Zap- 
tiehs arrived, woke up the inmates, and insolently demanded 
food for themselves, barley for their horses, and couches for 
the night. What more they would have called for I am not 
prepared to say; but I extricated my host from the difficulty 
by refusing them admittance on the ground that I had hired 
the house for the night. No wonder that the peasants of the 
District of Khnouss complain, in the petition which they asked 
me to lay before " the noble and humane people of England," 
" that the once prosperous and fertile country is now deserted, 
waste and desolate." 

Armenians not the Aggressors. 

These, then, are the horrors which are connoted by the 
phrase so flippantly uttered by certain enlightened English 
people : " These Armenians and Koords are eternally quarrel- 
ing, and a little bloodshed more or less would not seem se- 
riously to affect the general average." It is true enough in 
the sense in which it is correct to say that sheep and wolves 
are perpetually at war with each other, and in this sense only. 

The Armenians are naturally peaceful in all places, passion- 
ately devoted to agriculture in the country, and wholly ab- 
sorbed by mercantile pursuits in the towns. Lest their in- 
born aversion to bloodshed, however, should be overcome by 
the impulse of duty, the instinct of self-defense, or deep-rooted 
affection for those near and dear to them, they are forbidden 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 205 

to possess arms, and the tortures that are inflicted on the few 
who disregard this law would bring a blush to the cheek of a 
countryman of Confucius. They must rely for protection ex- 
clusively upon the Turkish soldiers and the Turkish law. 
Khozro, a well-to-do inhabitant of Prkhooss, near Lake Nazig 
(District of Akhlat), was a lucky exception. True, he did not 
exactly possess a gun, but he was suspected of having one. 
His house was searched, the floor dug up, the roof examined, 
in vain. Then he was imprisoned for a month, and allowed 
to purchase his liberty by paying ^350 in gold, and signing a 
paper to the effect that he never had fire-arms of any kind. 

The nature of the protection aflbrded by the Imperial troops 
was sufficiently clearly revealed last August and September on 
the slopes of Frfrkar and the heights of Andok, in the hamlets 
of Dalvorik, and in the valley of GhellyegQOzan. The villages 
of Odandjor, Hamzasheikh, Kakarloov Kharagyul, flourishing 
and prosperous in 1890-1891, did not contain one sheep, one 
buffalo, one horse in 1894. 

Reduced to Ashes. 

The stables were all tenantless, the stalls all empty, and 
the ashes of seventy enormous stacks of corn told the rest of 
the tale. This was the congenial work of the Koords, whose 
friends, the Turkish troops, were quartered, to the number of 
200 horse soldiers in Yondjalee, half an hour distant from 
Odandjor, 200 in Kop, and lOO in Shekagoob. The protec- 
tion which they aflbrded was given to the Koords, and the 
reward they received was a share in the spoils. 

The protection given by Turkish law is of a like nature, 
only incomparably more disastrous to those Armenians who 
venture to have recourse to it. Two or three instances, 
vouched for by a host of witnesses, verified by foreign con- 
suls, and authenticated by official documents, will throw light 



Appallmg Condition 0/ Armenia. 207 

enough for all practical purposes upon the strange forms 
assumed by Turkish justice in the provinces of Armenia. 

Kev^ork Vartanian, of the village of Mankassar (Sandjak of 
Alashkerd), testified, among other things, as follows : " In 
1892, a Koord, Andon by name, son of Kerevash (of the 
tribe of Tshalal), came with his comrades to my house and 
took five pounds in gold belonging to me, which I had saved 
up to buy seed corn with. I lodged a complaint against 
him, but the authorities dismissed me with contempt. Andon, 
hearing of my attempt to have him punished, came one 
night with twelve men, stood on our roof, and, looking down 
through the aperture, fired. 

A Tale of Horror. 

" My daughter-in-law, Yezeko, struck by a bullet, fell dead. 
Her two boys and my child Missak (two years old) likewise 
lost their lives then and there. Then the Koords entered the 
apartments and took my furniture, clothing, four oxen and 
four cows,* I hastened to the village of Karakilisse and 
complained to Rahim Pasha. Having heard my story, he 
said : * The Hamadieh Koords are the Sultan's warriors. To 
do thus is their right. You Armenians are liars.' And zve 
were imprisoned. We did not obtain our release until we had 
paid two pounds in gold. 

"The following winter two hundred soldiers entered our 
village under the leadership of Rahim Pasha himself. He at 
once told us that it was illegal to complain of the doings of 
the Koords. Then he quartered himself and his troops upon 
us, and demanded daily eight sheep, ten measures of barley, 
besides eggs, poultry and butter. 

* Cows, horses, etc , are frequently lodged in the apartment in which 
the inmates Hve and sleep. I have passed many a restless night in a 
spacious room along with horses, buffaloes, oxen, sheep and goats. 



208 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

*' Forty days running our village supplied these articles of 
food gratis, receiving curses and blows for our pains. Rahim 
Pasha, angry with his host, Pare, for grumbling, had a copper 
vessel hung over the fire, and, when heated, ordered it to be 
placed on Pare's head. Then he had him stripped naked and 
little bits of flesh nipped out of his quivering arms with 
pincers. 

*' These ruffians had scarcely quitted our village when A'ipe 
Pasha with sixty horsemen took their places. Seeing that 
there were no more sheep to be had in the village, they 
slaughtered and ate our cows and oxen, and having inflicted 
much suffering upon us during six days, they too left. To 
whom could we address our complaints, seeing that the 
legally constituted authorities themselves perpetrated these 
things ? Nothing was left for us but to quit the country, 
which we did." 

A Raid by Koords. 

In the month of June, 1890, the village of Alidjikrek was 
the scene of a double crime. The Armenian shepherds who 
were tending the flocks of the villagers rushed in excitedly 
asking for help. " The Koords of Ibil Ogloo Ibrahim came 
up with their sheep and drove us out of the village pastures." 
It was one of the commonplaces of village life in Turkish 
Armenia. Four young men set out to reason with the Mos- 
lems and assert the rights of propert}^ ; but scarcely had they 
reached the ground, when the Koords opened fire and killed 
one of the youths, named Hossep, on the spot. 

Another fell mortally wounded ; his name, Haroothioon. 
Their comrades fled in horror to the village ; the people, dis- 
mayed, abandoned their work ; the parish priest and several 
of the principal inhabitants ran to the scene of the murder, 
others rode off to inform the gendarmes. 

The Zaptiehs (gendarmes), accompanied by an official, 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 



209 



were soon on the spot. They found Hossep dead, and the 
parish priest, Der Ohannes, administering the last consola- 
tions of religion to the dying Haroothioon. They ordered 
the prayers to cease and menacingly asked, ** Where are the 
Koordish murderers ? " " They have fled," was the reply. 
*' Indeed ; probably you, dogs, have killed them, and buried 
them out of sight. You are all my prisoners." (Turning to 
the priest.) '' You, too, come ! " And they were all taken 
to Hassankaleh and thrown into the loathsome dungeon 
there. After a time they were transferred to the prison of 

Erzeroum. 

Systematic Extortion. 

The parish priest, Der Ohannes, was a well-to-do man. 
The process of systematic impoverishment was then only 
beginning. His brother, Garabed, and tljeir ten comrades in 
misfortune, were likewise men of substance, and it seemed 
desirable to the officials that their property should change 
hands. They were left, therefore, to soak in the fetid vapors 
of a reeking Eastern prison-house. 

The time dragged slowly on, day by day, week by week, 
and month by month, till they seemed to have been completely- 
forgotten. Their families were in an endless agony of fear, 
their affairs were utterly neglected, their health was wholly 
undermined. In this pandemonium they passed a year — the 
most horrible period of their lives. 

Then they humbly besought their persecutors to help them 
to their liberty and to name the price. The terms were 
agreed to, and they were advised to send Koords to hunt up 
traces of the Koordish murderers whom they were accused of 
having murdered in turn. " If they be found you will be set 
free." The cost of this advice and of the ways and means of 
carrying it out amounted to about ;^2000, which the prisoners 
were compelled to borrow at 40 per cent, interest, 
14 




L'lO 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 211 

The search was of course successful, Koordish and Turkish 
assassins, when their victims are Christians, having no need 
to hide their persons, no motive to hang their heads. What 
they do is well done. Tliese particular heroes were found 
enrolled in a battalion of his Majesty's favorite cavalry — the 
Hamidieh of Alashkerd. They confessed and did not deny ; 
a cloud of witnesses — Turks and Koords of course. Christians 
being disqualified — testified in court in favor of the twelve 
Armenian prisoners, who were then set at liberty, with ruined 
fortuiies and broken health. 

Murderers Escape. 

The sentence of the court set forth that the Armenians, 
charged with the crime of having killed certain Koords who 
had assassinated two Armenian villagers, had proved their 
innocence, the Koords in question having been discovered 
living and well, serving the Commander of the Faithful in the 
Hamidieh Corps. 

The Koordish murderers, about whose precious lives so 
much fuss was made, were left in peace, and they still con- 
tinue to serve his Majesty -the Sultan with the same zeal and 
contempt of consequences as before. 

A dog will bark if another dog be shot in his presence. 
These Armenians did not even grumble ; they simply called 
in the representatives of Imperial law and justice, who pro- 
ceeded to deal with them as with murderers. But Christians 
in Armenia dare not aspire to be treated with the considera- 
tion shown to obedient dogs by good-natured masters. 

The stories told of these Koordish Hamidieh officers in 
general, and of one of them, named Mostigo, in particular, 
seemed so wildly improbable, that I was at great pains to 
verify them. Learning that this particular Fra Diavolo had 
been arrested and was carefully guarded as a dangerous 



212 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

criminal in the prison of Erzeroum, where he would probably 
be hanged^ I determined to obtain, if possible, an interview 
with him, and learn the truth from his own lips. 

My first attempt ended in failure ; Mostigo being a desper- 
ate murderer, who had once before escaped from jail, was 
subjected to special restrictions, and if I had carried out my 
original plan of visiting him in disguise, the probability is that 
I should not have returned alive. After about three weeks' 
tedious and roundabout negotiations, I succeeded in gaining 
the gaoler's ear, having first replenished his purse. I next 
won over the brigand himself, and the upshot of my endeavors 
was an arrangement that Mostigo was to be allowed to leave 
the prison secretly, and at night, to spend six hours in my 
room, and then to be re-conducted to his dungeon. 

When the appointed day arrived the gaoler repudiated his 
part of the contract, on the ground that Mostigo, aware that 
his life was forfeited, would probably give the prison a wide 
berth if allowed to leave its precincts. After some further 
negotiations, however, I agreed to give two hostages for his 
return, one of them a brother Koord, whose life the brigand's 
notions of honor would not allow him to sacrifice for the 
chance of saving his own. 

At last he came to me one evening, walking over the roofs, 
lest the police permanently stationed at my door should espy 
him. I kept him all night, showed him to two of the most 
respectable Europeans in Erzeroum, and, lest any doubt should 
be thrown on my story, had myself photographed with him 
next morning. 

The tale unfolded by that Koordish noble constitutes a 
most admirable commentary upon Turkish regime in Armenia. 
This is not the place to give it in full. One or two short ex- 
tracts must suffice. 

Q. " Now, Mostigo, I desire to hear from your own lips, 



Appalling Condition of Arinenia. 213 

and to write down, some of your wonderful deeds. I want to 
make them known to the * hat-wearers.' " * 

A. " Even so. Announce them to the Twelve Powers." f 

There were evidently no misgivings about moral con- 
sequences; no fears of 
judicial punishment. 
And yet retribution was 
at hand ; Mostigo was 
said to be doomed to 
death. Desirous of clear- 
ing up this point, I 
went on : 

Q. " I am sorry to 
find that you are living 
in prison. Have you 
been long there ? " 

A. " I, too, am sorry. 
Five months ; but it 
seems an age." 

Q. "These Armenians 
are to blame, I sup- 
pose ?" 

^ ,^ .. TURKISH LADY. 

A. "Yes." 

Q. " You wiped out too many of them, carried off their 
women, burned their villages, and made it generally hot for 
them, I am told." 

A. (Scornfully.) "That has nothing to do with my imprison- 
ment. I shall not be punished for plundering Armenians. We 
all do that. I seldom killed, except when they resisted. But 
the Armenians betrayed me, and I was caught. That's what 

*The Koords call all Europeans hat-wearers, and generally regard 
them with respect and awe. 
f/. e., to the whole universe. 




214 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

I mean. But if I be hanged, it will be for attacking and rob- 
bing the Turkish post, and violating the wife of a Turkish 
Colonel who is now hereinErzeroum. But not for Arme- 
nians! Who are they that I should suffer for them?" 

Boasting of Infamy. 

After he had narrated several adventures of his, in the 
course of which he dishonored Christian women, killed Ar- 
menian villagers, robbed the post and escaped from prison, 
he went on to say : 

'* We did great deeds after that — deeds that would astonish 
the Twelve Powers to hear told. We attacked villages, killed 
people who would have killed us, gutted houses, taking money, 
carpets, sheep and women, and robbed travelers. . . . Daring 
and great were our deeds, and the mouths of men were full of 
them." 

Having heard the story of many of these ^' great deeds," in 
some of which fifty persons met their death, I asked: 

Q. " Do the Armenians ever offer you resistance when you 
take their cattle and their women ? " 

A. '' Not often. They cannot. They have no arms, and 
they know that even if they could kill a {^\^ of us it would 
do them no good, for other Koords would come and take 
vengeance ; but when we kill them no one's eyes grow 
large with rage. The Turks hate them, and we do not. 
We only want money and spoil, and some Koords also 
want their lands, but the Turks want their lives. A few 
months ago I attacked the Armenian village of Kara Kipriu, 
and drove off all the sheep in the place. I did not leave 
one behind. 

*' The villagers, in despair, did follow us that time and fire 
some shots at us, but it was nothing to speak of. We drove 
the sheep towards Erzeroum to sell them there. But on the 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 215 

way we had a fight near the Armenian village of Sheme. The 
peasants knew we had lifted the sheep from their own people 
and they attacked us. We were only five Koords, and they 
were many — the whole village was up against us. Two of my 
men — rayahs^ only — were killed. We killed fifteen Arme- 
nians. They succeeded in capturing forty of the sheep. The 
remainder we held and sold in Erzeroum." 

Q. " Did you kill many Armenians generally ? " 

A. *' Yes. We did not wish to do so. We only want 
booty, not lives. Lives are of no use to us. But we had to 
drive bullets through people at times to keep them quiet ; that 
is, if they resisted." 

Q. '' Did you often use your daggers ? " 

A. " No ; generally our rifles. We must live. In autumn 
we manage to get as much corn as we need for the winter, 
and money besides. We have cattle, but we take no care of 
it. We give it to the Armenians to look after andfeedy 

Q. " But if they refuse ?" 

A. " Well, we burn their hay, their corn, their houses, and 
we drive off their sheep, so they do not refuse. We take back 
our cattle in spring, and the Armenians must return the same 
number that they received." 

Q. " But if the cattle disease should carry them off? " 

A. " That is the Armenians' affair. They must return us 
what we gave them, or an equal number. And they know it. 
We cannot bear the loss. Why should not they ? Nearly 
all our sheep come from them." 

After having listened to scores of stories of his expedi- 

* The Koords are divided into Torens or nobles, who lead in war time, 
and possess and enjoy in peace; and Rayahs, who sacrifice their lives 
for their lords in all raids and feuds, and are wholly dependent on them 
at all times A ray ah' s life may be taken by a toren with almost the 
same impunity as a Christian's. 



216 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 



tions, murders, rapes, etc., I again asked : " Can you tell me 
some more of your daring deeds, Mostigo, for the ears of the 
Twelve Powers ? " to which I received this characteristic 
reply : 




CASTLE ON THE BOSPHORUS. 



" Once the wolf was asked : Tell us something about the 
sheep you devoured ? and he said : I ate thousands of sheep, 
which of them are you talking about? Even so it is with 
my deeds. If I spoke and you wrote for two days, much 
would still remain untold." 

This brigand is a Koord, and the name of the Koords is 



Appalling Condition of Armenia, ^Yl 

legion. Ex uno disce omnes. (From one you may learn the 
character of all.) And yet the Koords have shown them- 
selves to be the most humane of all the persecutors of the 
Armenians. Needing money, this man robbed ; desirous of 
pleasure he dishonored women and girls ; defending his booty, 
he killed men and women, and during it all he felt absolutely 
certain of impunity, so long as his victims were Armenians. 

Is there no law then ? one is tempted to ask. There is, 
and a very good law for that corner of the globe, were it only 
administered ; for the moment he robbed the Imperial post 
and dishonored a Turkish woman, he was found worthy of 
death. 

Promises are only a Mockery. 

Laws, reforms and constitutions, therefore, were they drawn 
up by the wisest and most experienced legislators and states- 
men of the world, will not be worth the' paper they are writ- 
ten on so long as the Turks are allowed to administer them 
without control. The proof is contained in the life and acts 
of Turkish officials any time during the past fifty years. 

Here, for example, is an honorable record of an energetic 
administrator, his Excellency Hussein Pasha, Brigadier-Gen- 
eral of his Majesty the * Sultan, which will bear the closest 
scrutiny. Commanding a gang of Koordish brigands, which 
could be increased to about 2,000 men, he continually har- 
assed the peaceful inhabitants of the province, plundering, 
torturing, violating, killing, till his name alone sent a thrill of 
terror to the hearts of all. 

The Armenians of Patnotz suffered so much from his 
depredations that they all quitted their village en masse and 
migrated to Karakilisse, where the Kaimakam resides ; where- 
upon Hussein surrounded the house of the Bishop of Karaki- 
lisse with a large force and compelled him to send the people 
back. 



218 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

Even the Mohammedans felt so shocked at his doings, that 
the Mussulman priest of Patnotz, Sheikh Nari, complained of 
him to the Vali (Governor-General) of Erzeroum. Hussein 
then sent his men, who murdered Sheikh Nari and frightened 
his daughter-in-law to death. In one expedition he carried 
off 2,600 sheep, many horses, kine, etc., took ^2,500, burnt 
nine villages, killed ten men, and cut off the right hands, noses 
and ears of eleven others. 

Crimes Unpunished- 
Early in the year 1890 he raped five Christian girls of 
Patnotz, and in September and October of the same year he 
levied a contribution of ;^i,500 on the people of the same dis- 
trict. For none of these crimes was he ever tried. In Decem- 
ber, 1890, he sent his brother to raise more money, which was 
done by raiding twenty-one villages of the Aintab District, 
the net result being ;^i,75oand 200 batmaiis of butter (=3,000 
lbs.). Hatsho, an Armenian of Patnotz, who could not, or 
would not, contribute a certain sum to his coffer, had his 
house raided in his absence, and his wife and two children 
killed. 

All this time the gallant Hussein occupied the post and 
*^ discharged the duties '' of a Mudir or Deputy Sub-Governor. 
One day he drove off 1,000 sheep and 7 yoke of buffaloes 
from Patnotz and Kizilkoh and sold them in Erzeroum to a 
merchant, after which he confiscated a fine horse belonging to 
Manook, an Armenian of Kizilkoh, and sent it as a present to 
the son of an Erzeroum judge. One night towards the end 
of February, 1891, Hussein, his nephew Rassoul, and others, 
entered the house of an Armenian, Kaspar, for the purpose of 
carrying off Kaspar's handsome daughter-in-law. 

The inmates, however, shouted for help, whereupon Hus- 
sein, raising his revolver, shot the young woman dead. A 



Appalling Co7idition of Armenia. 219 

petition was presented asking that he be punished, but the 
Vali of Erzeroum declined to receive it, and Hussein was 
summoned to Constantinople, welcomed with cordiality, deco- 
rated by his Majesty, raised to the rank of Pasha, and ap- 
pointed Brigadier-General. When the troops went to Moush 
and Sassoun in 1894, Hussein was one of the heroes, and 
when " order " was restored there, he returned to Patnotz with 
several young Sassounian girls whom he abducted, and he 
now lives happy and respected. 

Conspirators in Crime. 

No doubt there are missions which might be entrusted to a 
gentleman like Brigadier-General Hussein Pasha and men of 
his type. But is the government of a Christian people one of 
them ? And if we assume that the then Vali of Erzeroum 
and the other administrators of the country were men of a 
much higher moral standard than he, of what avail were their 
noble character and admirable intentions, seeing that they 
allowed him to plunder, ravish, burn and kill unchecked? 
And is it reasonable to blame Hussein Pasha for deeds, after 
the perpetration of which, he was honored and promoted by 
the guardian of all law^ and order, the Commander of the 
Faithful ? 

Not all of the officials have the same tastes or the same 
degree of courage as his Excellency Hussein Pasha. There 
are others — many others no doubt — who, whatever their pri- 
vate proclivities may be, feel moved by their official sense of 
the fitness of things to cast about for a pretext for acts for 
which there could be no conceivable justification. And the 
follies which they commit in pursuit of this shadow would 
seem incredible were they not notorious. The following case 
has been inquired into and verified by the foreign representa- 
tives in Turkey : 



220 



Appalling Condition of Arme^iia. 



In the spring of 1893 Hassib Pasha, the Governor of 
Moush, feehng the need of some proofs of the disaffection 
of the Armenians of Avzoot and the neighboring villages, 
despatched Police Captain Reshid Effendi thither to search 
for arms. Reshid set out, made careful inquiries and dili- 
gently searched in the houses, on the roofs, under the ground, 
but in vain. There were no firearms anywhere. He returned 




SERAGLIO POINT — CONSTANTINOPLE. 



and reported that the villagers had strictly observed the law 
forbidding them to possess weapons of any kind. 

But Hassib Pasha waxed wroth. " How dare you assert 
what I know to be untrue ? '^ he asked. '' Go back this minute 
and find the arms. Don't dare return without them ! " The 
Police Captain again rode off to Avzoot and searched every 
nook and corner with lamps, so to say, turning the houses 
inside out But he found nothing. Then he summoned the 
village Elder and said : " I have been sent to discover the 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 221 

hidden arms here. Tell me where they are." ** But there 
are none." *' There must be some." " I assure you, you are 
mistaken." 

" Well, now listen. I have to find arms here, whether 
there are any or none, and I cannot return without them. 
Unless you deliver me some, I shall quarter myself and my 
men upon your village." This meant certainly plunder and 
probably rape. The Elder was dismayed. '* What are we to 
do?" he asked. "We have no arms.^' '* Go and get some 
then, steal them, buy them, but get them." 

Cart-loads of Weapons. 

Two or three persons were accordingly sent to the nearest 
Koordish village, where they purchased three cart-loads of 
old daggers, flintlock guns and rusty, swords, which were 
duly handed over to Reshid. With these he returned to the 
Governor of Mouish exulting. Hasib Pasha, seeing the col- 
lection, rejoiced exceedingly and said : " You see now, I was 
right. I told you there were arms hidden away there. You did 
not seek for them properly at first. Be more diligent in future." 

Verto Popakhian, an inhabitant of the village of Khalil 
Tshaush (Khnouss), narrated the following, the story of his 
troubles, which throws a curious sidelight on Turkish justice 
and Armenian peasant-life generally : 

" A Koord named Djundee endeavored to carry off my 
niece, Nazo, but we took her to Erzeroum, and gave her in 
marriage to an Armenian. We often have to give our young 
girls in marriage when they are mere children, eleven to 
twelve years old, or else dress them up in boy's clothes, to 
preserve them undefiled. Nazo's husband was the son of the 
parish priest of Hertev. The Koords vowed vengeance upon 
me for saving the girl thus. Djundee beat my brother so 
serionsly that he was ill in bed for nearly six months, and he 



222 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

and his men drove off my cattle, burned our grain, threshing- 
floor and hay, and ruined us completely. 

When the girl came home on a visit, Djundee and his 
Koords attacked the house, and carried her off. We com- 
plained to all the authorities in the place and in Erzeroum 
too. By the time they agreed to examine the girl publicly, 
she had borne a child to the Koord, and shame prevented her 
return. She remained a Mohammedan. We then bought a 
gun for our protection, the law forbidding firearms not exist- 
ing yet. In 1893 we sold the gun to a Koord named Hadji 
Daho, but in 1894 the police came and demanded it. We 
said we had sold it, and the Koord bore out our assertion. 
He even showed it to them. But they arrested my brother 
and myself, and compelled us to give our two buffaloes in 
exchange for two guns, which they took away as incriminat- 
ing proof of our guilt ; and then they sent us to Erzeroum 
prison. 

" We were kept here, suffering great hardships, for a long 
time. When eight months had passed away, my brother died 
of ill-treatment. Then they promised me my liberty in con- 
sideration of large bribes, which reduced me to absolute 
beggary. I had no choice. I gave them all they asked, 
leaving myself and family of nineteen persons completely 
destitute. And then they condemned me to five years' imprison- 
ment y 

Justice Denied to Armenians. 

Justice in all its aspects is rigorously denied to the Arme- 
nian. The mere fact that he dares to invoke it as plaintiff or 
prosecutor against a Koord or a Turk is alv/ays sufficient to 
metamorphose him into a defendant or a criminal, generally 
into both, whereupon he is invariably thrown into prison. In 
such cases the prison is intended to be no more than the 
half-way house between relative comfort and absolute misery, 
the inmates being destined to be stripped of all they possess 
and then turned adrift. 

But what the prison really is cannot be made sufficiently 
clear in words. If the old English Star Chamber, the Spanish 



Appalling Condition of Armenia, 223 

Inquisition, a Chinese opium den, the ward of a yellow-fever 
hospital, and a nook in the lowest depths of Dante's Hell be 
conceived as blended and merged into one, the resulting 
picture will somewhat resemble a bad Turkish prison. Filth, 
stench, disease, deformity, pain in forms and degrees incon 
ceivable in Europe, constitute the physical characteristics : 
the psychological include the blank despair that is final, 
fiendish, fierce malignity, hellish delight in human suffering^ 
stoic self-sacrifice in the cultivation of loathsome vices^ stark 
madness raging in the moral nature only — the whole incar- 
nated in grotesque beings whose resemblance to man is a 
living blasphemy against the Deity. 

A Nightmare of Horrors. 

In these noisome dungeons, cries of exquisite suffering and 
shouts of unnatural delight continually commingle ; ribald 
songs are sung to the accompaniment of heart-rending groans ; 
meanwhile the breath is passing away from bodies which had 
long before been soulless, and are unwept save by the clammy 
walls whereon the vapor of unimagined agonies and foul 
disease condenses into big drops and runs down in driblets to 
the reeking ground. Truly it is a horrid nightmare quickened 
into life. 

Last March I despatched a friend of mine to visit the 
political prisoners in the Bitlis penitentiary, and to a^k them 
to give me a succinct account of their condition. Four of 
them replied in a joint letter, which is certainly the most 
gruesome piece of reading I have beheld ever since I first 
perused a description of the Black Hole. Only the least 
sensational passages can be stripped of the decent disguise of 
a foreign language and exposed to the light of day. 

It is dated " Bitlis Prison, Hell, March 28 (April 9th), 
1895," and begins thus : 



Appalliiig Condition of Armenia. 225 

'^ In Bitlis Prison there are seven cells, each one capable of 
containing from ten to twelve persons. The number they 
actually contain is from twenty to thirty. There are no 
sanitary arrangements whatever. Offal, vermin, and the filth 
that should find a special place elsewhere are heaped together 
in the same cell. . . . The water is undrinkable. Frequently 
the Armenian prisoners are forced to drink * Khwlitsh ' water 
— i.e., water from the tank in which the Mohammedans perform 
their ablutions " 

Then follows a brief but suggestive account of the treat- 
ment endured by the writer's comrades, many of whom died 
from the effects. For example : " Malkhass Aghadjanian and 
Scrop Malkhassian of Avzoot (Moush) were beaten till they 
lost consciousness. The former was branded in eight places, 
the latter in twelve places, with a hot iron." The further 
outrage which was committed upon Serop must be nameless. 
" Hagop Seropian, of the village of Avzoot, was stripped and 
beaten till he lost consciousness ; then a girdle v/as thrown 
round his neck, and having been dragged into the Zaptieh's 
room, he was branded in sixteen parts of his body with red- 
hot ram-rods.'' 

Nameless Outrages. 

Having described other sufferings to which he was sub- 
jected, such as the plucking out of his hair, standing motionless 
in one place without food or drink till nature could hold out 
no longer, the writer goes on to mention outrages for which 
the English tongue has no name, and civilized people no ears. 
Then he continues : 

'' Sirko Minassian, Garabed Malkhassian, and Isro Ard- 
vadzadoorian of the same village, having been violently 
beaten, were forced to remain in a standing position for a long 
time, and then had the contents of certain vessels poured 
upon their heads. Korki Mardoyan, of the village of Semol, 
was violently beaten ; his hair was plucked out by the roots, 
15 



226 Appalling Condition of Armenia, 

and he was forced to stand "motionless for twenty-four hours 
Then Moolazim Hadji AH and the gaoler, Abdoolkadir, forced 
him to perform the so-called SJieitantopy ,^^ which resulted in 
his "death. He was forty-five years of age. 

" Mekhitar Saforian and Khatsho Baloyan of Kakarloo 
(Boolanyk) were subjected to the same treatment. Mekhitar 
was but fifteen and Khatsho only thirteen years old. Sogho 
Sharoyan, of Alvarindj (Moush), was conveyed from Moush 
to Bitlis prison handcuffed. Here he was cruelly beaten, and 
forced to maintain a standing position without food. 

" Whenever he fainted they revived him with douches of 
cold water and stripes. They also plucked out his hair, and 
burned his body with red-hot irons. Then .... (They sub- 
jected him to treatment which cannot be described.) .... 
Hambartzoon Boyadjian, after his arrest, was exposed to the 
scorching heat of the sun for three days. Then he was taken 
to Semal, where he and his companions were beaten and shut 
up in a church. They were not only not allowed to leave the 
church to relieve the wants of nature, but were forced to defile 

the baptismal fonts and the church altar Where are 

you, Christian Europe and America ? " 

The four signatures at the foot of this letter include that of 
a highly-respected and God-fearing ecclesiastic. 

Prison Tortures. 

I am personally acquainted with scores of people who have 
passed through these prison mills. The stories they narrate 
of their experience there are gruesome, and would be hard to 
believe were they not amply confirmed by the still more eerie 
tales told by their broken spirits, their wasted bodies, and the 
deep scars and monstrous deformities that will abide with 
them till the grave or the vultures devour them. 

* Literally " Devil's ring.'' The hands are tightly bound together, 
and the feet, tied together by the great toes, are forced up over the hands. 
The remainder of the Sheitantopy consists of a severe torture and a 
beastly crime. 



Appalling Condition of Armenia, 227 

There is something so forbiddingly fantastic and wildly gro- 
tesque in the tortures and outrages invented by their gaolers 
or their local governors that a simple, unvarnished account of 
them sounds like the ravings of a diseased devil. But this 
is a subject upon which it is impossible to be explicit. 

Turkish Dungeons. 

The manner in which men qualify for the Turkish prison in 
Armenia can be easily deduced from what has already been 
said. The possession of money, cattle, corn, land, a wife or 
daughter, or enemies, is enough. We are shocked to read of 
the cruelty of brutal Koords, who ride to a village, attack the 
houses, drive off the sheep, seize all the portable property, 
dishonor the women, and return leisurely home, conscious of 
having done a good day's work. We call it a disgrace to 
civilization, and perhaps the qualification is' correct. 

But bad as it sounds, it is a mercy compared with the 
Turkish methods, which rely upon the machinery of the law 
and the horrors of the prison. A man whom poverty, nay, 
hunger, prevents from paying imaginary arrears of taxes, who 
declines to give up his cow or his buffalo as backsheesh to 
the Zaptiehs, who beseeches them to spare the honor of his 
wife or his daughter, is thrown into one of these dungeons, 
which he never leaves until he has been branded with the in- 
delible stigma of the place. But let us take one of the usual 
and by no means most revolting cases of arrest and imprison- 
ment as an illustration. 

A young man from the village of Avzood (Moush District) 
went to Russia in search of work, and found it. He also 
married, and lived there for several years. Towards the close 
of 1892 he came back to his native village, and the police, 
informed that " an Armenian who has lived in Russia is re- 
turned," despatched four of their number under the orders of 



Appalling Condition of Ar7nenia. 229 

Isaag Tshaush to Avzood. They arrived two hours after 
sundown, and, while three of them guarded the house where 
the young man was staying, the leader entered. Shots were 
heard immediately after, and the young Armenian and Isaag 
lay dead. 

False Evidence. 

The authorities in Bitlis then sent a Colonel of the Zaptiehs 
to Avzood to see "justice" done. And it was done very 
speedily. The Colonel summoned the men of the village — 
none of whom were mixed up in the matter — and put them 
in prison. Then the officials deflowered all the girls, and dis- 
honored all the young women in Avzood, after which they 
liberated the men, except about twenty, whom they conveyed 
to the jail of Bitlis. A few of these died there, and ten others 
were soon afterwards dismissed. Finally they decided to 
charge a young teacher, Markar, of the village of Vartenis, 
with the murder of Isaag Tshaush, and as there was no evi- 
dence against him, the other prisoners were ordered to testify. 

Armenians have the reputation of being liars, but they cer- 
tainly draw the line at swearing away an innocent man's life ; 
and they refused in this case to commit the double crime of 
perjury and murder. Strenuous efforts were made to deter- 
mine them; they were stripped naked, burned in various parts 
of the body with red-hot irons, till they yelled with pain. 
Then they were prevented from sleeping for several nights, 
and tortured acutely again, till, writhing and quivering, they 
promised to swear anything, everything, if once relieved from 
their agony. 

A document declaring that Markar was in the village when 
Isaag Tshaush arrived there, and that he had shot Isaag in 
their presence, was drawn up in their names. To this they 
duly affixed their seals. Meanwhile Markar himself was 
being tortured in another part of the prison. 



230 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

When the trial came on and the incriminating document 
was read, the signatories stripped themselves in court, exhib- 
ited the ugly marks left by the red-hot irons, and called God 
to witness that that evidence of theirs, wrung from them by 
maddening torture, was a lie. 

Markar, on the other hand, declared that he was not in 
Avzood village at all on the night in question. But these 
statements were unavailing; he was hanged last year, and the 
" witnesses " condemned to various terms in fortified towns. 
Some of the women dishonored by the Zaptiehs died from the 
effects of the treatment to which they were subjected. 

Shrewd Method for Making Money. 

The jailors grow rich on the money they wring from the 
inmates of the cells. The prison-keeper of Bitlis Prison, 
Abdoolkader, a wretch who, God having presumably made 
him, may be called a man, earns enormous sums this way. 
He lately spent ;^2,500 on his house, and two or three Turk- 
ish merchants are said to be doing business on his capital, 
although his salary is only about 50^'. a month. These sums 
are received as bribes, not for any positive return made to the 
prisoners, but for mere relief from torture employed solely for 
this purpose. 

The following case may give some idea of the nature of the 
relief thus highly paid for: Some five months ago three men 
of the village of Krtabaz were arrested and imprisoned. The 
fact that they were released without trial ten weeks later is 
evidence enough of their innocence of crime. They were 
taken to the prison of Hassankaleh. The room in which 
they were confined was overcrowded. 

The term overcrowding does not denote the same thing in 
Armenia as in European prisons. They had no room to lie 
down at all. Some Koordish prisoners confined in the same 



Appalling Condition of Armenia, 231 

dismal den, who enjoyed special privileges, had but two and 
a half feet space to sleep in. In one corner of the dungeon a 
hole in the wall represented the prison-equivalent for sanita- 
tion, and these three Armenians were told that they must 
stand up by this hole, and might lean against the wall to 
sleep. This they did for fifteen consecutive nights. The stench, 
the filth, the vermin exceed all conception. 

After the lapse of fifteen days, by dint of starving them- 
selves, they were enabled to give part of their food to some of 
the Koords, one of whom allowed the Armenians to take his 
place in turn during the day. This was not much, for the 
Koords themselves had only sitting space, about two and a 
half feet long; still it did afford rehef. But the Koord was 
severely punished for this benevolence or enterprise. His 
rations of bread were cut off, and he was put in irons for sev- 
eral days. 

In Constant Danger. 

The men he thus befriended, who now aver they owe their 
lives to him, were notables of their village, and innocent per- 
sons to boot, who were released some weeks later because 
" they had done no wrong." 

It is no easy thing for an Armenian man to cross the fron- 
tier and enter Russia, if he possess a gold or silver coin or 
an article of clothing; nor for a woman to leave the country 
without first undergoing indignities, the mere mention of 
which should make a man's blood boil with shame and indig- 
nation. "Oh, but these things are not felt so acutely by 
Armenians as they would be by Europeans," said an English 
lady to me a few days ago: "the wind is tempered to the 
shorn lamb, don't you know?" It may be so; but I have 
seen and conversed with hundreds and hundreds of Armenian 
women lately, and I found no signs of the tempering 
process. 



232 Appalling Condition of Armeitia. 

Whatever vices or virtues may be predicated of Armenian 
women, chastity must be numbered among their essential 
characteristics. They carry it to an incredible extreme. In 
many places an Armenian woman never even speaks to any man 
but her husband, unless the latter is present Even to her 
nearest and dearest male relatives and connections she has 
nothing to say ; and her purity, in the slums of Erzeroum as 
in the valleys of Sassoun, is above suspicion. 

Driven over the Frontier. 

Yet thcsj are the people who are being continually out- 
raged by brutal Koords and beastly Turks, oftentimes until 
death releases them. But the difficulty of emigrating from 
Turkey, with money, clothing, or women, will be best under- 
stood in the light of a few concrete examples. Not that the 
Turks object to their leaving. On the contrary — and this is 
the most conclusive proof of the existence of the Plan of Ex- 
termination — they actually drive them over the frontier, and 
then persistently refuse to allow them to return. 

Sahag Garoyan, questioned as to the reasons why he and 
his family of ten persons emigrated from his village of 
Kheter (Sandjak of Bayazid), deposed as follows : 

" We could not remiin because we were treated as beasts 
of burden by Rezekam Bsy, son of Djaffer Agha, and 'is 
men, who belong to his Majesty's Hamidieh corps, and 
can therefore neither be punished nor complained of. I emi- 
grated towards the end of last year. Rezekam had come 
with his followers, as if it were war-time, and taken possession 
of the houses of the Armenians, driving the occupants away. 

" Only seven families were allowed to stay on. The others, 
having no place to go to, took refuge in the church. We 
had to feed the Koords for three months, giving them our 
corn, sheep, etc., and keeping their cattle in fodder. We had 
to serve some of them as beasts of burden.* Rezekam him- 

* This is no uncommon thin^ in Armenia. 




233 



234 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

self paid a weekly visit to the village of Karakilisse, and 
levied a contribution of ^50 Turkish on the inhabitants, 
besides hay, barley, etc., for his men. 

" At last, unable to bear this burden any longer, we ad- 
dressed a complaint to the authorities. They told us to be 
gone. Then a Koord, named Ghazas Teamer, ordered us to sign 
a document setting forth that we were prosperous and happy. 
This was to be sent to Constantinople, as he wished to be ap- 
pointed Yoozbashi of the Hamidiehs. No one signed the 
paper, whereat Teamer grew angry, and killed Avaki and his 
brother. Five months later he killed Minass, son of Kre, of 
the village of Mankassar. When the winter came on last 
year, Rezekam Bey imprisoned our neighbor Sarkiss, son of 
Sahag, had his head plunged in cold water and dried ; after 
that it was steeped in petroleum and his hair burned off. 

'^ Then he endeavored to violate Sara, Sarkiss^ sister, but 
she was smuggled away in time. Rezekam's servant, Kheto, 
dishonored Moorad's wife ; and a few days later entered the 
house of Abraham, an inhabitant of the same village, com- 
manding him to go and work for Rezekam Bey. Abraham's 
wife, who was about to become a mother, begged that he 
might be allowed to stay at home ; but Kheto kicked her in 
the stomach, and she was delivered of a dead child an hour 
or so after. Oh, we could not live there — not if we were 
beasts, instead of Christians." 

A Oommon Story. 

Mgirdeetch Mekhoyan, aged thirty-five, of the village of 
Koopegheran (Sandjak of Bayazid), deposed : '' I emigrated 
in 1894 because Aipa Pasha came with forty Koordish 
families, demolished our church, and took everything we 
had." The same story, with variations, comes from every 
Sandjak, almost from every village of the five Armenian 
provinces. Bedross Kozdyan, aged fifty-five, of the village of 
Arog (Sandjak of Van), testified : 

" I left my village and my country with my family in 
August, last year (1894), because we were driven away by 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 235 

the Koords under Kri, son of Tshalo, who was abetted by 
the Turkish authorities. He first came and violated three 
girls and three young married women, whom he took away 
in spite of their cries and prayers. Three Armenians tried 
to protect the wretched women, who implored them not to let 
them go. 

*' But the Koords killed the three on the spot. Their 
names were Sarkiss, Khatsho and Keveark. Next day he 
and his men drove off the sheep of the villagers. We com- 
plained to the Governor of Van, but he said he could not 
move in the matter. Ten days later the Koords came again, 
and carried away our wheat, barley, and live stock, and 
burned the hay which they could not transport. Then they 
knocked down the altar of our church, hoping to find gold 
and silver hidden away there. We again besought the 
authorities to protect us, but they replied. ' We'll slaughter 
you like sheep if you dare to come again with your com- 
plaints against good Mohammedans.' 

" Then we took what we could with us and set out for 
Russia. When we reached Sinak six armed Koords attacked 
us, robbed us of everything we had, and sent us over the 
frontier with nothing but our clothes." 

Processions to the Churchyard. 

The Plan of Extermination is obviously working smoothly 
and well. The Christian population is decimated, villages are 
changing hands almost as quickly as the scenes shift in a 
comic opera, and the exodus to Russia and the processions to 
the churchyard are increasing. This is not the place to give 
a list of islaniized villages, but a typical case may help to con- 
vey an idea of the process that is going on even now. 

In the province of Alashkerd, which borders upon Russia, 
there are five villages to the east of Karakilisse, named 
respectively, Khedr (or Kheter), Mangassar, Djoodjan, Ziro 
and Koopkheran. These villages Eyoob Pasha sent his sons 
to occupy, Koords of the Zilanlee tribe, they are all officers 




236 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 237 

in the Hamidieh corps. General Eyoob has three sons, 
Rezgo Bey, Khalid Bey and Yoossoof Bey, and these gallant 
officers with their followers set out last spring and took the 
villages for themselves. 

There were about 400 Armenian houses there at the time, 
or, say roughly, some 3,000 Christian inhabitants. There is 
not one there to-day. Only one individual, named Avedis 
Agha, has remained, and even he lives not in one of the four 
villages, but in Yoondjaloo. He was a wealthy man when 
the Koords arrived ; he is indigent now. The Armenians 
were completely driven out in the course of a few months by 
methods which may be termed somewhat drastic. 

Killed for Disobedience. 

For example : one day the Koords met Markar, son of 
Ghoogo, in the fields carrying home his corn. They de- 
manded his araba (cart). He replied that it was engaged now, 
as they could see for themselves, but that he would give it 
later on. They killed him on the spot for disobedience, and 
threw his body on the cart. Thirty villagers went with their 
children to complain to the Kaimakam in Karakilisse. The 
Kaimakam caused them to remain waiting in the open air for 
eleven days before he would hear them. And having heard 
them, he told them to go — to Russia. 

In the Vilayet of Bitlis (Kaza of Boolanyk and Sandjak of 
Moush) there is a village named Kadjloo, which, being inter- 
preted, means "Village of the Cross." It is a village of the • 
Crescent now. The means by which the sudden change was 
effected are identical in character with those already described. 
Mohammed Emin led a number of Koords (outcasts from the 
Djibranlee and Hassnanlee tribes) against the village, took it, 
so to say, by storm, and, to use their own picturesque expres- 
T'on, " sat down in it." 



238 Appallmg Condition of Armenia. 

Happily it is situated only five miles distant from the seat 
of the Turkish Deputy-Governor, but, unhappily for the peo- 
ple, he refused to move a finger, and they were all driven off 
like sheep. Perhaps this is one of the cases in which the 
wind is tempered to the shorn sheep ? 

Villages Raided and Despoiled. 

Then the conquerors set about raiding the neighboring vil- 
lages, and in particular Piran, which is about a mile further 
o'i^. These would likewise have changed hands had it not 
been for a bright idea of one of the chief villagers, at whose 
suggestion a Koord named Assad Agha was invited to come 
and quarter his men in Piran, accepting for himself twenty 
corn-fields, ten meadoivs, and a spacious two-story house, which 
was built expressly for him by an architect from Bitlis, in 
return for which he undertook to protect the Armenians from 
Mohammed Emin and his merry men. 

Three hundred and six of the principal inhabitants of the 
District of Khnouss gave me a signed petition when I was 
leaving Armenia, and requested me to lay it before '^the 
■lumane and noble people of England." In this document they 
truly say : 

"" We now solemnly assure you that the butchery of Sas- 
soun is but a drop in the ocean of Armenian blood shed 
gradually and silently all over the Empire since the late 
Turko-Russian war. Year by year, month by month, day by 
day, innocent men, women and children have been shot down, 
stabbed, or clubbed to death in their houses and their fields, 
tortured in strange, fiendish ways in fetid prison-cells, or left 
to rot in exile under the scorching sun of Arabia. 

"During the progr-^s of that long and horrible tragedy no 
voice was raised ibr mercy, no hand extended to help us. 
That process is stili going on, but it has already entered upon 
its final phases, and the Armenian people are at the last gasD. 




239 



240 Appalling Coiidiiion of Armenia. 

Is European sympathy destined to take the form of a cross 
upon our graves?" 

I have also received two touching appeals from the women 
of Armenia, sealed with their seals, and addressed to their 
sisters of England. What they ask is indeed little— that they 
be protected from dishonor. And, until the General Elections 
gave us a strong Government, which knows its own mind, it 
seemed as if these women were asking for the moon. 

On November 7th last, a Turk of the city of Bayazid asked 
Avedis Krmoyan to pay a little debt. The Armenian, not 
having the money at the time, besought his creditor to wait 
a few weeks. The Turk refused, and insisted on taking 
Krmoyan's wife as a pledge that the money would be paid. 
Entreaties and tears were unavailing ; the woman was carried 
off, and then forced to become a Moslem. She can never 
return to her husband again. 

Story of an Unfortunate Girl. 

In the village of Khosso Veran (Bassen) a girl named Selvy 
was seized by a Turk as security for a debt contracted by her 
father. The creditor kept her three months and dishonored 
her; nor would he consent to set her free until Giragoss 
Ohannissean went bail for her. As the debt, however, is un- 
paid, the Turk has a mortgage on her still. This sort of 
thing cannot be said to be uncommon, for although I knew 
but three cases of it from personal knowledge, I heard of 
more than a score in different parts of Armenia. 

It is not only absolutely useless, but often positively dan- 
gerous, to complain to the officials, who, from high to low, 
take an active part in this Oriental " sport " themselves. The 
Kiateeb of Alai entered the house of Ohannes Goolykian (vil- 
lage of Karatshoban in Khnouss) in the broad daylight, and 



Appalling Condition of Armenia. 241 

raped the daughter of Ohannes, who was fifteen years old, and 

then sent her off to Trebizond. Her father complained, 

besought the authorities to restore her, and it is only fair to 

say that, so far as I know, he was not punished for his 

temerity. 

A Shameless Demand. 

The Deputy-Governor of Arabghir actually arrested and 
expelled a number of the men of the town whose wives were 
considered to be among the most handsome women in 
Armenia. He next approached the latter, but was received 
with the scorn he deserved. Then these women shut them- 
selves up in their houses, refusing to allow him or his men to 
enter, whereupon he told them publicly and shamelessly, that 
if they wished their husbands to return, they must yield to his 
desires. 

The following case is one in which I took a very lively 
interest, because I am well acquainted with the victim and 
her family. Her name is Lucine Mussegh, her native village 
Khnoossaberd. Born in 1878, Lucine was sent at an early 
age to the American Missionary School at Erzeroum, where 
she was taught the doctrines of evangelical Christianity, her 
father, Aghadjan Kemalian, having always manifested a strong 
sympathy for Protestantism. Armenian girls are in chronic 
danger of being raped by Turks and Koords, and Armenian 
parents are continually scheming for the purpose of shielding 
them from this calamity which, as we have seen, occasionally 
results in death. 

The means usually employed are very early marriages or 
attempts to pass off the girls as boys. In the village of 
Ishkhoe, for instance, the daughter of Tepan Agha was 
brought up as a boy. She was arrested and imprisoned in 
Erzeroum, for this, too, is a crime. I have known children 

to be taken from school, married, allowed to live a few 
16 



242 Appalling Condition of Armenia. 

months with their husbands or wives, and then sent back to 
school again. This is what happened to Lucine, who, taken 
from school at the age of fourteen, was wedded to a boy of 
her own age, Milikean by name, and having lived some time 
with him under his father's roof, was sent to the Protestant 
school once more. 

One night, during her husband's absence from home, she 
was seized by some men, dragged by the hair, gagged, and 
taken to the house of Hussni Bey. TJiis man is the son of the 
Deputy -Governor of the place. He dishonored the young 
woman, and sent her home next day, but her husband refused 
to receive her any more^ and she is now friendless and alone 
in the world. 

Wholesale Butchery. 

The massacre of Sassoun sends a shudder to the hearts of 
the most callous. But that butchery was a divine mercy com- 
pared with the hellish deeds that are being done every week 
and every day of the year. The piteous moans of famishing 
children ; the groans of old men who have lived to see what 
can never be embodied in words ; the piercing cries of vio- 
lated maidenhood, nay, of tender childhood ; the shrieks of 
mothers made childless by crimes compared with which 
murder would be a blessing ; the screams, scarcely human, of 
women writhing under the lash ; and all the vain voices of 
blood and agony that die away in that dreary desert without 
having found a responsive echo on earth or in heaven, com- 
bine to throw Sassoun and all its horrors into the shade. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 

A MEETING was held in the Town Hall, Chester, England, 
on the 6th of August, 1895, for the purpose of discussing the 
claims of the Armenians in Turkey. The assembly room at 
the Town Hall was crowded to excess, and many thousands 
of persons had to be refused admission. 

The Duke of Westminster presided, and among those pre- 
sent were a great number of members of Parliament. 

Mr. Gladstone, who was received with prolonged cheers, 
said : — My Lord Duke, my Lords, and Ladies and Gentle- 
men', — My first observation shall be a repetition of what has 
already been said by the noble Duke, who has assured you 
that this meeting is not a meeting called in the interests of 
any party (hear, hear), or having the smallest connection with 
those differences of opinion which naturally and warrantably 
in this free country will spring up in a complex state of 
affairs, dividing us on certain questions man from man. 
(Hear, hear.) 

But, my Lord Duke, it is satisfactory to observe that free- 
dom of opinion and even these divisions themselves upon 
certain questions give increased weight and augmented 
emphasis to the concurrence of the people to the cordial 
agreement of the whole nation in these matters where the 
broad principles of common humanity and common justice 
prevail (Cheers.) 

243 



244 Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 

A Question of Humanity. 

It is perfectly true that the Government whose deeds we 
have to impeach is a Mahometan Government, and it is per- 
fectly true that the sufferers under those outrages, under those 
afflictions, are Christian sufferers. The Mahometan subjects 
of Turkey suffer a great deal, but what they suffer is only in 
the way of the ordinary excesses and defects of an intolerably 
bad Government — perhaps the worst on the face of the earth. 
(Hear, hear.) That which we have now to do is, I am sorry 
to say, the opening up of an entirely new chapter. It is not 
a question of indifferent laws indifferently enforced. It is not 
a question of administrative violence and administrative abuse. 
It cuts further and goes to the root of all that concerns human 
life in its elementary conditions. 

But this I will say, that if, instead of dealing with the 
Turkish Government, and impeaching it for its misdeeds 
towards Christian subjects, we were dealing with a Christian 
Government that was capable of similar misdeeds towards 
Mahometan subjects, our indignation ought to be not less, 
but greater, than it is now. (Cheers.) Well, I will take the 
liberty of reading a resolution which has been placed in my 
hands, and which seems to me to express with firmness, but 
with moderation, the opinions which I am very confident this 
meeting will entertain, and this meeting, in entertaining such 
opinions, is but the representative of the country at large. 
(Cheers.) 

American Sympathy for Armenia. 

Allow me to go further and to say that the country at large 
in entertaining these ideas is only a representative of civilized 
humanity, and I will presume to speak on the ground, in part, 
of personal knowledge; I will presume to speak of the opinions 
and sympathies that are entertained in that part which is most 



Gladstone on the Armenian Qiiestion. 245 

remote from Armenia — I mean among our own Transatlantic 
brethren of the United States. If possible, the sentiment in 
America entertained on the subject of these recent occurrences 
is even more vivid and even stronger, if it can be, than that 
which beats in the hearts of the people of this country. 

The Resolution. 

The terms of the resolution are as follows : 

" That this meeting expresses its conviction that her Majes- 
ty's Government will have the cordial support of the entire 
nation, without distinction of party, in any measures which it 
may adopt for securing to the people of Turkish Armenia 
such reforms in the administration of that province as shall 
provide effective guarantees for the safety of life, honor, re- 
ligion, and property, and that no reforms can be effective 
which are not placed under the continuous control of the 
Great Powers of Europe." (Cheers.) > 

That means, without doubt, the great Powers of Europe, 
all who choose to combine, and those great Powers which 
happily have combined and have already, in my judgment, 
pledged their honor, as well as their power, to the attainment 
of the object we have in view. (Cheers.) 

The Atrocities Proved. 

Now, it was my fate, I think some six or more months ago, 
to address a very limited number, not a public assembly, but 
a limited number of Armenian gentlemen, and gentlemen 
interested in Armenia, on this subject ; and at that time I ven- 
tured to point out that one of our duties was to avoid prema- 
ture judgments. 

There was no authoritative and impartial declaration before 
the world at that period on the subject of what is known as 
the Sassoun massacre ; that massacre to which the noble duke 
has alluded, and with respect to which, horrible as that mas- 



246 Gladstone on the Armenian Question, 

sacre was, one of the most important witnesses in this case 
declares that it is thrown into the shade, and has become pale 
and ineffective by the side of the unspeakable horrors which 
are being enacted from month to month, from week to week, 
and day to day, in the different provinces of Armenia. (Cheers.) 

It was a duty to avoid premature judgment, and I think it 
was avoided. There was a great reserve ; but at last the en- 
gine of dispassionate inquiry was brought to bear, and then 
it was found that another duty, very important in general in 
these cases, really in this particular instance had no particular 
place at all, and though it is a duty to avoid exaggeration — 
a most sacred duty — it is a duty that has little or no place in 
the case before us, because it is too well known that the 
powers of language hardly suffice to describe what has been 
and is being done, and that exaggeration, if we were ever so 
much disposed to it, is in such a case really beyond our power. 
(Cheers.) 

Those are dreadful words to speak. It is a painful office to 
perform, and nothing but a strong sense of duty could gather 
us together between these walls or could induce a man of my 
age, and a man who is not wholly without other difficulties to 
contend with, to resign for the moment that repose and 
quietude which are the last of many great earthly blessings 
remaining to him, in order to invite you to enter into a con- 
sideration of this question — I will not say in order to invite 
you to allow yourselves to be flooded with the sickening 
details that it involves. 

I shall not attempt to lead you into that dreadful field, but 
I make this appeal to you. I do hope that every one cf you 
will for himself and herself endeavor, in such a degree as 
your position may allow of you to endeavor, to acquire some 
acquaintance with them (hear, hear), because I know that, 
when I say that a case of this kind puts exaggeration out of 



Gladstone on the Armenian Question, 247 

the question, I am making a very broad assertion, which 
would in most cases be violent, which would in all ordinary- 
cases be unwarrantable. 

But those who will go through the process I have described, 
or even a limited portion of the process, will find that the 
words are not too strong for the occasion. (Cheers.) What 
witnesses ought we to call before us ? I should be disposed 
to say that it matters very little what witnesses you call. So 
far as the character of the testimony you will receive is con- 
cerned, the witnesses are all agreed. At the time that I have 
just spoken of, six or eight months ago, they were private 
witnesses. 

Since that time, although we have not seen the detailed 
documents of public authority, yet we know that all the 
broader statements which had been made up to that time and 
which have made the blood of this nation run cold have been 
confirmed and verified. They have not been overstated, not 
withdrawn, not qualified, not reduced, but confirmed in all their 
breadth, in all their horrible substance, in all their sickening 
details. (Hear, hear.) 

American Witnesses. 

And here I may say that it is not merely European wit- 
nesses with whom we have to deal. We have American 
witnesses also in the field, and the testimony of the American 
witnesses is the same as that of the European ; but it is of 
still greater importance, and for this reason — that everybody 
knows that America has no separate or sinister political 
interest of any kind in the affairs of the Levant. 

She comes into court perfectly honest and perfectly unsus- 
pected, and that which she says possesses on that account a 
double weight. I will not refer to the witnesses in particular, 
as I have been told you will receive a statement by my 



248 Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 

reverend friend, Canon McCoU, who is one of them (cheers) ; 
but I believe they are absolutely agreed, that there is no shade 
of difference prevailing among them. 

Endorsement of Dr. Dillon. 

I will refer to the last of these witnesses, one whom I must 
say I am disposed to name with honor: it is Dr. Dillon 
(cheers), whose name has appeared within the last three or 
four days at the foot of an article of unusual length — Ah ! 
and good were the reasons for extending it to an unusual 
length — in the Contemporary Review. (Cheers.) Perhaps you 
will ask, as I asked, " Who is Dr. Dillon ? " and I am able to 
describe him to his honor. 

Dr. Dillon is a man who, as the special commissioner of the 
Daily TelegrapJi newspaper, some months ago, with care and 
labor, and with the hazard of his life (hear, hear), went into 
Turkey, laudably making use of a disguise for the purpose, 
and went into Armenia, so that he might make himself 
thoroughly master of the facts. (Cheers.) He published his 
results before any public authority had given utterance to its 
judgments and those results which he, I rather think, was the 
first to give to the world in a connected shape — at any rate 
he was v^ry early in the field — those results have been com- 
pletely confirmed and established by the inquiries of the dele- 
gates appointed by the three Powers — England, France and 
Russia. (Cheers.) 

I say he has, at the risk of his life, acquired a title to be 
believed, and here he gives us an account which bears upon 
it all the marks of truth, but which, at the same time that we 
must believe it to be true, you would say is hardly credible. 
Unhappily some of those matters which are not credible do, 
in this strange and wayward world of ours, turn out to be 
true ; and here it is hardly credible that there can dwell in 



Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 249 

the human form a spirit of such intense and diaboHcal wicked- 
ness as is unhappily displayed in some of the narratives Dr, 
Dillon has laid before the world. 

I shall not quote from them in detail, though I mean to 
make a single citation, which will be a citation, if I may say so, 
rather of principle than of detail. I shall not quote the details, 
but I will say to you that when you begin to read them you 
will see the truth of what I just now said — namely, that we 
are not dealing at all with a common and ordinary question 
of abuses of government or the defects of them. We are 
dealing with something that goes far deeper, far wider, and 
that imposes upon us and upon you far heavier obligations. 

The Four Crimes. 

The whole substance of this remarkable article — and it 
agrees, as I have said, with the testimony of the other wit- 
nesses — I am quoting it because it is the latest — the whole 
substance of this article may be summed up in four awful 
words — plunder, murder, rape and torture. (" Shame.") Every 
incident turns upon one or upon several of those awful words. 
Plunder and murder you would think are bad enough, but 
plunder and murder are almost venial by the side of the work 
of the ravisher and the work of the torturer, as it is described 
in these pages, and as it is now fully and authentically known 
to be going on. 

I will keep my word, and I will not be tempted by — what 
shall I say ? — the dramatic interest attached to such exaggera- 
tion of human action as we find here to travel into the details 
of the facts. They are fitter for private perusal than they are 
for public discussion. I will not be tempted to travel into 
them ; I will ask you for a moment, any of you who have not 
yourselves verified the particulars of the case, to credit me 



250 Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 

with speaking the truth, until I go on to consider who are the 
doers of these deeds. 

In all ordinary cases, when we have before us instances of 
crime, perhaps of very horrible crime — for example, there is a 
sad story in the papers to-day of a massacre in a portion of 
China — we at once assume that in all countries, unfortunately, 
there are malefactors, there are plunderers whose deeds we 
are going to consider. 

Here, my lord duke, it is nothing of the kind ; we have 
nothing to do here with what are called the dangerous classes 
of the community ; it is not their proceedings which you are 
asked to consider ; it is the proceedings of the Government 
of Constantinople and its agents. (Cheers.) 

The Turkish Government Responsible. 

There is not one of these misdeeds for which the Govern- 
ment of Constantinople is not morally responsible. (Cheers.) 
Now, who are these agents ? Let me tell you very briefly. 
They fall into three classes. The first have been mentioned 
by the noble duke — namely, the savage Kurds, who are, 
unhappily, the neighbors of the Armenians, the Armenians 
being the representatives of one of the oldest civilized Chris- 
tian races, and being, beyond all doubt, one of the most paci- 
fic, one of the most industrious, and one of the most intelli- 
gent races in the world. (Cheers.) 

These Kurds are by them ; they are wild, savage clans. 
There was but one word, my lord duke, in your address that 
I should have been disposed to literally criticise, and it was 
the expression that fell from you that the Sultan had "' organ- 
ized" these Kurds. They are, in my belief, in no sense 
organized — that is to say, there is no more organization 
among them than is to be found, say, in a band of robbers ; 
they have no other organization, being nothing but a band of 
robbers. (Cheers.) 



Gladstone on the Armenian Question, 251 

These the Sultan and the Government at Constantinople 
have enrolled, though in a nominal fashion, not without mili- 
tary discipline, into pretended cavalry regiments and then set 
them loose with the authority of soldiers of the Sultan to 
harry and destroy the people of Armenia. (Cheers.) Well, 
these Kurds are the first of the agents in this horrible busi- 
ness ; the next are the Turkish soldiers, who are in no sense 
behind the Kurds in their performances; the third are the 
peace officers, the police and the tax-gatherers of the Turkish 
Government; and there seems to be a deadly competition 
among all these classes which shall most prove itself an adept 
in the horrible and infernal work that is before them, but above 
them and more guilty than they, are the higher officers of the 
Turkish Government. 

You will find, if you look into this papfer of Dr. Dillon's, 
that at every point he has exposed himself to confutation if 
what he says is inaccurate or untrue. He gives names, titles, 
places, dates, every particular which would enable the Turkish 
Government to track him out and detect him and hold him 
up to public reprobation. 

Three Propositions. 

You will never hear of an answer from the Turkish Gov- 
ernment to that article. That may be a bold thing for me to 
say; but I am confident you will never hear an answer from 
them which shall follow these statements of Dr. Dillon's, 
based on his own personal experience, through the details, and 
attempt to shake the fabric of grievously composed materials 
which he has built up in the face of the world. 

I think there are certain matters, such as those which have 
been discussed to-day and discussed in many other forms, on 
which it is perfectly possible to make up our minds. And 
what I should say is, that the whole position may be summed 



252 Gladstone on the Armenia7i Question. 

up in three brief propositions. I do not know to which of 
these propositions to assign the less or the greater importance. 
It appears to me that they are probably each and every one of 
them absolutely indispensable. The first proposition is this, 
You ought to moderate your demands. 

You ought to ask for nothing but that which is strictly 
necessary, and that possibly according to all that we know of 
the proposals before us, the rule has been rigidly complied 
with. I do not hesitate to say, ladies and gentlemen, that the 
cleanest and clearest method of dealing with this subject, if 
we should have done it, would have been to tell the Turk to 
march out of Armenia. (Loud cheers.) He has no right to 
remain there, and it would have been an excellent settlement 
of the question. 

Accept no Turkish Promises. 

But it is by no means certain that Europe or even the three 
Powers would have been unanimous in seeking after that end. 
Therefore, let us part with everything except what is known 
to be indispensable. Then I come to the other two rules, and 
of these the first is that you should accept no Turkish 
promises. (Hear, hear.) They are absolutely and entirely 
worthless. They are worse than worthless, because they may 
serve to delude a few persons who, without information or 
experience, naturally would suppose, when promises are given, 
that there is something like an intention of fulfillment. Recol- 
lect that no scheme is worth having unless it be supported by 
efficient guarantees entirely outside the promises of the Turk- 
ish Government. (Applause.) 

There is another word which I must speak, and it is this : 
Don't be too much afraid if you hear introduced into this 
discussion a word that I admit, in ordinary cases, ought to be 
excluded from all diplomatic proceeding, namely, the word 



Gladstone oil the Armefiian Question. 253 

coercion. Coercion is a word perfectly well understood in 
Constantinople, and it is a word highly appreciated in Con- 
stantinople. It is a drastic dose — (laughter) — which never 
fails of its aim when it is administered in that quarter. 
(Laughter.) 

Gentlemen, I would not use these words if I had not myself 
personally had large and close experience of the proceedings 
of the Turkish Government. I say, first make your case 
good, and when your case is made good, determine that it 
shall prevail. (Cheers.) Grammar has something to do with 
this case. Recollect that while the word " ought " sounded 
in Constantinople, passes in thin air, and has no force or 
solidit}^ whatever attaching to it ; on the contrary, the brother 
or sister monosyllable, the word '' must'' is perfectly under- 
stood — (cheers) — and it is a known fact supported by positive 
experience, which can be verified upon the map of Europe, 
that a timely and ludicious use of this word never fails in its 
effect. (Cheers.) 

Gentlemen, I must point out to you that we have reached 
a veiy critical position indeed. How are three great Govern- 
ments in Europe, ruling a population of more than two hun- 
dred million souls, with perhaps eight or ten times the popu- 
lation of Turkey, with twent}^ times the wealth of Turkey, 
with fifty times the influence and power of Turkey, who have 
committed themselves in this matter before the world, I put 
it to you that if they recede before an irrational resistance — 
and remember that I have in the first instance postulated that 
our demands should be reasonable — if they recede before the 
irrational resistance of the Sultan and the Ottoman Govern- 
ment, they are disgraced in the face of the world. 

Ever}' motive of duty coincides with ever\'- motive of self- 
respect, and, my lord duke, you yourself let drop a word 
which is a frightful word, unhappily not wholly out of place, 
and that the v/ord is 



254 Gladstone on the Armenian Question, 

"Extermination." 

There has gone abroad — I don't say that I feel myself com- 
petent to judge the matter, I don't think I do, but there has 
gone abroad, and there is widely entertained a belief, that the 
recent proceedings of the Turkish Government in Armenia 
particularly, but not in Armenia exclusively, are founded upon 
deliberate determination to exterminate the Christians in that 
Empire. I hope it is not true, but at the same time I must 
say that there are evidences tending to support it — (hear, 
hear) — and the grand evidence which tends to support it is 
this : the perfect infatuation of the Turkish Government. 
Now, in my time there have been periods when Turkey was 
ruled by men of honesty and ability. 

I will say that, until about thirty years ago, you could trust 
the word of the Turkish Government as well as any Govern- 
ment in Europe; you might not approve of their proceedings, 
but you could trust their word; but a kind of judicial infatua- 
tion appears to have come down upon them. What has hap- 
pened in Turkey ? To hear of this vaunting on the part of 
its Government, and this game of brag that is from time to 
time being played, that it cannot compromise its dignity, it 
cannot waive any of its rights. 

What would come of its rights in one-third part of its 
empire ? Within my lifetime Turkey has been reduced by 
one-third part of her territory, and sixteen or eighteen millions 
of people, inhabiting some of the most beautiful and formerly 
most famous countries in the world, who were under the 
Ottoman rule, are now as free as we are. (Cheers.) 

The Ottoman Government are as well aware of that as we, 
and yet we find it pursuing these insane courses. On the 
other hand, my lord duke most judiciously referred to the 
plan of Government that was introduced in the Lebanon about 
1 86 1, whereby a reasonable share of stability to local institu- 



Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 255 

tions and popular control has been given in Turkey, and the 
results have been most satisfactory. 

There is also a part of the country, although not a very 
large part, where something like local self-government is per- 
mitted, and it has been very hopeful in its character. But 
when we see these things — on the one hand that these experi- 
ments, in a sense of justice, have all succeeded, and that when 
adapted to the Greeks and the Bulgarians, and four of five 
other States, have resulted in the loss of those States, then I 
say that the Turkish Government is evidently in such a state 
of infatuation that it is fain to believe it may, under certain 
circumstances, be infatuated enough to scheme the extermi- 
nation of the Christian population. 

Well, this is a sad and terrible story, and I have been a 
very long time in telling it, but a very small part of it ; but I 
hope that, having heard the terms of the resolution that will 
be submitted to you, you will agree that a case is made out. 
(Cheers.) I for one, for the sake of avoiding other complica- 
tions, would rejoice if the Government of Turkey would come 
to its senses. If only men like Friad Pacha and Ali Pacha, 
who were in the Governqient of Turkey after the Crimean 
War, could be raised from the dead and could inspire the 
Turkish policy with their spirit and with their principles ! 

That is, in my opinion, what we ought all to desire, and 
though it would be more agreeable to clear Turkey than to 
find her guilty of these terrible charges, yet, if we have the 
smallest regard to humanity, if we are sensible at all of what 
is due to our own honor, after the steps which have been 
taken within the last twelve or eighteen months, we must 
interfere. We must be careful to demand no more than what 
is just — but at least as much as is necessary — and we must 
be determined that, with the help of God, that which is neces- 
sary and that which is just shall be done, whether there will 
be a response or whether there be none. (Loud cheers.) 



CHAPTER XV. 

The Cry from Armenia. 

As Jtre look farther into the details of the crimes committed 
under Mohammedan rule, we are more and more shocked by 
the appalling record. From the most trustworthy sources, 
from eye-witnesses and from letters received in America and 
other countries, written, many of them, by missionaries, we 
are able to obtain some faint idea of the magnitude of these 
terrible outrages. 

Early in October, 1895, a serious outbreak occurred at 
Constantinople, of which one of the religious journals giveL 
the following account : 

It is the expected that has happened. A riot has occurred 
in Constantinople itself, directly under the eyes of the foreign 
ambassadors, and three or four Turks have been killed, and 
as many hundred Armenians are dead or missing, and busi- 
ness is interrupted, and men, women and children are crowd- 
ing the Armenian churches, and the garden of the British 
Ambassador, 

The Huntchagist Armenians, on the one hand, and the 
Moslem softas, on the other, have for a long time been 
spoiling for a fight The Armenians have been goaded to 
exasperation by the long delays connected with the effort to 
institute reforms in the Empire. They have said repeatedly 
that there was no hope until such a disturbance was raised 
that the Powers would be compelled to intervene. So also 
the softas have been stirred more than usually by the talk of 
256 



The Cry from Armenia, 257 

partition of the Turkish Empire, and the loss of Ottoman 
prestige. 

The bitter denunciation by Mr. Gladstone, and the even 
more significant threat of Lord Salisbury, have been well 
understood throughout the Turkish Empire, and have giver 
force to the claim set forth by the Ulema that the present 
course was sure to end in disaster ; that if Ottoman glory 
was to be restored, Ottoman methods must be resumed. 

Cause of the Outbreak. 

The immediate occasion of the disturbance was simple. 
A petition to the Sultan is recognized by all as within the 
right of every citizen. The appearance, however, of a large 
number of armed Armenians bearing the petition was dis- 
tinctly revolutionary in its aspect, and, thiough promptly met 
by the police, proved too much for the excited Moslem 
imagination, and rumors spread rapidly through the city 
which called out the Turkish students. Once out they cared 
little where they went or what they did. The police were 
inefficient, and for a time there was a veritable reign of terror. 
The Government recognizing the gravity of the situation, 
called out its military, and compelled both students and 
Armenians to keep the peace. 

More significant than anything else, however, is the 
appointment of Kiamil Pasha as Grand Vizier. He is by 
far the ablest statesman in Turkey. His predecessor, Said 
Pasha, was a politician pure and simple. Kiamil is a friend 
of England ; Said, a tool of Russia. When the former was 
in office the country enjoyed peace and prosperity such as it 
has not had any time for half a century and more. Whether 
he will be strong enough to stay the influences now at work 
remains to be seen, especially if Said remains as Minister of 
Foreign Affairs. 

17 



258 The Cry from Armenia, 

But most important is the action taken by the representa- 
tives of the powers, who have sent a collective note to the 
Porte, and put their guard-ships where they can protect 
foreigners. Sir Philip Currie, the British Representative, 
demands that arrests shall cease and amnesty be given to 
those arrested. He also peremptorily requires a public proc- 
lamation, accepting the demands of the powers, and tells the 
Porte that the accession of the Earl of Salisbury implies no 
change in the attitude of Great Britain. This is welcome 
news and disposes of disquieting rumors. 

Our Missions in Turkey. 

The following, concerning American missions in Turkey, is 
of special interest. It is the statement of TJie Independent, th.Q 
well-known journal : 

In our mission columns we give a detailed statement 
of the situation of the American missionaries in Turkey 
That situation is indeed perilous in the extreme. While as 
yet we have no word of loss of life, there is no telling what 
news any day may bring, not merely from the interior cities, 
but from Constantinople itself. We wish that it were possible 
for us to tell, or even to know, the full story of heroism. The 
facts will be known in time, and then we shall realize the calm 
courage that has faced, and still faces, difficulties and dangers 
that recall the stories of the Indian mutiny and the early 
experiences in the South Seas. 

That protection against these dangers has been repeatedly 
promised, and as repeatedly denied, makes them not less but 
more fearful ; and with the admiration for the heroism there 
stirs also a sense of indignation that combined Christendom 
should stand aghast before gangs of Kurds, and believe the 
weak lies of a treacherous Sultan. 

We confess also to an even deeper indignation that at 



The Cry from Armenia, 

such a crisis great metropolitan dailies should sneer at the 
work of these missionaries as indicating a " disease of moral 
hysteria," and should calmly talk about the " failures " of mis- 




ARMENIAN REFUGEES. 

sions. To be sure they do not agree, and one approves what 
the other disapproves, but the ignorance and lofty disdain 
displayed make us ashamed for them. 

For sixty-four years the American Churches have been 
carrying on mission work in the Turkish Empire. The 



260 The Cry from Armenia, 

principal agent has been the American Board ; but the organi- 
zations of the Presbyterians, Reformed Presbyterians and 
Disciples of Christ have been represented in Syria, Northern 
Syria and Mesopotamia. During that time they have started 
and developed five colleges for young men, one for young 
women, besides a large number of seminaries, academies and 
training schools of a high grade. 

They have inaugurated a system of common schools all 
over the Empire of such excellence and influence that every 
other community, however hostile to Protestant Christianity, 
has felt compelled, in self-preservatiou, to establish similar 
ones for itself, so that not merely Armenians, Greeks, 
Jacobites and Maronites have raised their standard of educa- 
tion, but the Moslems themselves have learned to boast of 
their girls' schools, a thing unknown before the missionaries 
landed in Smyrna. 

Power of Islam in Danger. 

Hand in hand with education has gone general literature. 
It is well known that one of the most potent influences for 
Bulgarian freedom was the weekly Zornitza, published by the 
missionaries ; and their various Armenian and Greek papers 
have had a marked effect not only in the establishment but in 
the development of journaHsm, while their translations of the 
Bible into the spoken language of the people, and their 
preparation of other books, have stimulated the people to a 
degree that can scarcely be exaggerated. They were wise 
mollahs who used to shake their heads as they passed the 
Bible House in Constantinople and muttered imprecations 
upon the men who more than any one else were endangering 
the power of Islam. 

The outrages at Harpiat, of which horrifying accounts have 
been given, are fully depicted in the subjoined letter from a 
missionary ; 



The Cry from Armenia. 261 

The world will have heard of the physical side of the dis- 
asters which have come upon this country. The moral aspect 
is still more deplorable. When the Saracens conquered these 
lands, they offered the people tlie alternatives, the Koran, 
tribute or the sword. These Moslems first strip the people of 
everything, commit other nameless outrages, and then the 
only alternative presented is Islam or death; and this in the 
n neteenth century. Hundreds of people have accepted 
martyrdom rather than deny their faith. Many more, some 
from fear of death, and others to save their families from a 
fate worse than death, have formally accepted Moham- 
medanism. 

Churches Turned into Mosques. 

In most of the villages and towns in this region, the 
majority of the survivors who were not able to flee, are now 
professed Moslems. Throughout all this wide Harput mis- 
sion field, there is probably scarcely a Christian service held 
among Gregorians or Protestants outside of this quarter of 
the city. Although the church here was burned, our Sunday 
services have been maintained in the college. 

Churches have become mosques, and the trembling Chris- 
tians are taught to pray after the Mohammedan form. 
Schools, of course, are disbanded, although we are gathering 
together the boys of our male department at the college; and 
we hope to do the same for girls, if we can secure rooms out- 
side, as the girls' college is a complete ruin. 

Every day, from morning till night, our hearts are torn 
by the recital of most horrible tales of bloodshed and outraL^e 
and heartless persecution. Some of our best and worthiest 
men tell of the agony which they suffer from the position 
which they hold as Mohammedans in form, while their whole 
being revolts against it. They say : " We would welcome 
martyrdom with cruel torture, if only our wives and children 



262 The Cry from Armenia. 

could be saved from the clutches of these men by death or by- 
some sort of freedom. We have gladly surrendered our 
homes to the flames and our property to plunder; but we 
cannot sacrifice our families." 

Here is a very serious problem. Of course we cannot 
justify this position; and yet when we see the fate of many of 
these helpless families, bereft of their protectors, it is not in 
our hearts to reproach those who have saved their lives by 
this hypocrisy. Either alternative is dreadful ; and to stand 
in the presence of such calamities so utterly helpless, except 
to cry to God in the agony of our hearts, is a trial which we 
never expected to experience. 

Dreadful Forebodings. 

Of course we cannot tell what the outcome will be. We 
believe that God has a people here, and that in some way, out 
of all this ruin, he will rebuild his Church; but at present the 
outlook is dark in the extreme. Many of the churches, par- 
sonages and schools have been destroyed, how many we do 
not know, for the country is in such a state that traveling is 
very unsafe, and reports come in slowly. We know that 
seven of our pastors and six preachers have been killed, 
and we may hear of still others. 

Few of the preachers remain at their posts. Not only 
would they be put under a pressure to accept Islam, but they 
are hated because they are understood to be promoters of 
freedom of thought. Then, too, where their congregations 
are recognized as Mohammedans, their presence among them 
now would not be tolerated. Here, too, is another problem. 
We have been steadily pressing for self-support, but even our 
city congregations are impoverished, and the congregations in 
the out-stations are most of them naked and hungry, and de- 
pendent on charity ; so these faithful men and these bereft 



The Cry from Armenia, 263 

preachers' families come back upon the Board for support. 
Some of them were wholly supported by their own people, 
who are now able to give notHing. 

We are now organizing a system of relief in the hope that 
funds will come to us from abroad. Even were there abun- 
dant funds in hand, it is a most difficult and delicate business. 
Even those who have declared themselves Moslems receive 
no mercy from their co-religionists, who yet would resent 
foreign aid. The Government has the name of supplying 
rations, but so far it is simply a farce, and it does not reach 
the most destitute. The mortality this winter from scanty 
clothing, exposure and starvation will inevitably be great. 
God pity this poor people ! 

The Story of the Harput Massacre. 

A more detailed account of the conflict is furnished by 
another missionary as follows : 

Doubtless you know the main facts in the case; and I 
hope some time we may be able to get the details into shape, 
so that the Christian world may understand the enormity of 
the outrage which has been committed. We are not ourselves, 
I am sure, fully aware of the extent of the pdlaging of villages 
and murder of innocent men, and the capture of women and 
girls for the harems of brutal Turks and Kurds. But I must 
give a few details. 

We were surrounded for a week or ten days by a cordon of 
burning villages on the plain. Gradually the cordon of fire 
and fiendish savages drew nearer the city. The attack in the 
city was planned for Sunday, November lo, 1895, and some 
of the city rabble began to make demonstrations ; but the 
soldiers drove them back. The invading Kurds, Redifs (in 
disguise as Kurds) were not ready for the onset. On Monday, 
November nth, the attack began on Husenik, where 200 



264 The Cry from Armenia. 

were killed and as many more wounded, then up the gorge to 
Sinamood and the east part of the city. 

Then a body of men appeared in the Turkish cemetery 
below the city. They came near a body of soldiers posted on 
the hill with a cannon. Big Turks came down to them from 
the city; a conference seemed to be held. Apparently the 
invaders were forbidden to touch the markets (from which, of 
course, they knew that both Christians and Turks had re- 
moved their goods to their houses.) Then the soldiers with- 
drew and were posted on the road higher up, apparently to 
better defend the empty markets. 

A Murderous Attack. 

Then the invaders, with a great cry of " Ash / ash / " began 
to fire their guns. The soldiers also began to fire. It was 
soon apparent that this was only a little sham fight ; but it 
was too thin to cover the nefarious design of the men who 
planned this thing. Then began the attack on the houses in 
this quarter. The soldiers protected the raiders, and not a 
finger was lifted by the military officers on the ground to pro- 
tect the people or us from the plundering, murderous mob. 
There were hundreds of plunderers. Scarcely a house in this 
quarter escaped, and a large number were set on fire. A 
crowd of refugees Avere in our court and house and girls' 
school. 

Soon our outside gate was attacked, and the crowd of 
fugitives fled for their lives. One company pressing through 
a narrow passage were fired upon ; the bullets fell like hail 
around them : four were wounded. A cannon ball went 
through the same passage-way. This company fled to the hill 
and were taken into the city (twenty-seven school-girls in the 
crowd ; they suffered untold misery in a khan that night ; 
delivered next day, and brought away under an escort of sol- 



The Cry front Armenia. 265 

diers). The rest of the refugees took refuge in the yard of 
the girls' school, surrounded by a high wall. 

At the last moment I ran out to see if our heavy front 
gate was standing. I saw a hole a foot wide made, and 
instantly the loud report of a rifle warned me to retreat. We 
had been in the yard but a few moments when the marauders 
were at the door of the yard inside the school buildings. We 
made another start and hurried out from the gate, and this 
time for the college (boys') building as our last refuge. I was 
on the outside of the fleeing crowd, our invalids, Mr. W. and 
Mrs. A., borne in strong arms. 

A Brutal Turk. 

Suddenly a savage-looking Turk appeared at the corner 
of the building outside. I instinctively raised my hand to 
prevent his coming toward the fleeing crowd. Instantly he 
he drew and flourished a revolver and deliberately pointed it 
at me. I thought for an instant it was only to frighten us 
and make us hasten our flight, but two shots from his pistol 
convinced me that his purpose was to murder. Some thirty 
or more had been shot down in the houses just below us. 

Again, before we were all through the gate, he aimed at 
Mr. Gates and Miss Wheeler and fired a third time, but no 
one was hit. We breathed more freely as we pressed into the 
three-story stone building with the more than four hundred 
fugitives. Soon the smoke began to rise from the front of 
my house and Mr. Brown's ; some say the house was set on 
fire by bombshells. Soon the whole of the houses connected 
with the Girls' College were on fire, and the large college 
building was no doubt set on fire ; also fifty to seventy houses 
were burning below ours. 

Then the chapel close to us was set on fire, and the intense 
heat would have set fire to the large high school building 



266 



The Cry from Armenia. 



between the college and chapel ; but with our new fire engine 
and a plentiful supply of water, Mr. Gates was able to save it 




A BEREAVED FAMILY. 

This woman, with her daughter and son, has lost all the other members of her family and has 
been robbed of all her household goods. The girl was cruelly maltreated by the soldiers. 

from taking fire. Here in the college building, with 450 per- 
sons, we spent the night, with little bedding and only dry 
crusts of bread to eat. 

The plan was evidently to destroy all the buildings, and 
thus render our stay here impossible. Mr. Barnum's house 



The Cry from Armenia. 267 

was fired in three places, but the fire went out. A bombshell 
was fired into Mr. Barnum's study, and burst in the room 
from which they had fled only a little before. Mr. Gates^s 
house would have been burned — oil was poured in two 
places — but happily was left unburned. Three nights we 
remained in the college building, then went into a room in the 
Gates's house; the Barnums also went to theirs. 

The next morning after the attack the commander advised 
and urged leaving the college building, saying : " I can't pro- 
tect you here." Mr. Barnum replied : '' The time has come 
for plain talk. I saw you standing on the hill there yester- 
day when our houses were plundered and burned, and you did 
nothing to prevent it. If you wish to protect us, you can do 
it better here than anywhere else." The treacherous rascal 
said two days before that he would be cut in pieces before he 
would allow a Kurd to enter the oxty. He now brazenly 
replied: "What could I do against 15,000 Kurds?" 

Mohammedanism or Death. 

They wanted to get the people scattered in the city and 
us out of the buildings, and then they would have been 
burned. But I must not write more, although there is much to 
tell. We write to Constantinople, but can't be sure of our 
letters getting through. We have telegraphed a good many 
times, but telegrams can't tell all. 

The pressure on the villages to become ]\Ioslem is terri- 
ble ; large numbers have been instantly shot down or butch- 
ered who would not instantly abjure their Christian faith. We 
have already heard of the murder of seven of our native 
pastors and six preachers. But I have not time to enter on 
these horrible details. If I can get letters sent on, perhaps 
I will send again; 45 killed in the west quarter, 100 in the 
whole cit}^ Husenik, 200 killed, 200 wounded. Official 



268 The Cry from Armenia. 

reports will represent Turks killed. There has not been a 
single one killed or wounded. 

Another Account. 

A later account, signed by *'An Observer," furnishes the 
following additional details of the outbreak at Harput: 

The reign of terror still continues, although the feeling is 
not as tense as it has been. In the city only a few Christians 
venture to open their shops, and in the villages, where there is 
a mixed population, the Christians show themselves but little 
in public. Not a single person has been punished, or even 
arrested, for the awful crimes which have been perpetrated 
during the last few weeks ; consequently evil men have very 
little fear of punishment for new crimes which they may com- 
mit, although the Government is apparently trying to prevent 
further outbreaks. Threats are freely uttered, and so the 
Christian population is kept in a state of anxious suspense. 
The most common threat, that which is uttered by officials as 
well as by civilians, is, that in case Europe uses force, the 
Christian population will be wiped out altogether. 

In the weekly London Times, of November 22d, 1895, it 
is written that the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs has 
authorized a Constantinople correspondent to announce that 
^' the Sultan, prompted by the noble sentiments with which he 
is universally known to be animated, has issued an Irad6, 
ordering all those who have suffered during the troubles in 
Asia Minor to be clothed, fed and housed at the expense of 
the State until the situation improves. The widows and 
orphans unable to maintain themselves will receive a State 
pension. This measure is to apply alike to Christians and 
Mohammedans, to the innocent and to the guilty." His 
Excellency added : " Tell me in what country there is another 
sovereign whose humanity and goodness are equally bound- 
less ! " 



The Cry from Armenia, 269 

We are in the midst of a population suffering as few peo- 
ple have ever suffered. Now what are the facts as to official 
relief? I cannot say what orders His Majesty may have given ; 
but, after daily and careful inquiry of people from many 
places in this region, I can affirm that the only aid which is 
given, or has been given in any case, is a little bread or a very 
small quantity of grain, and that, in many cases, of the poorest 
quality. 

I have seen a sample of the bread given in Arabkir, and 
it is a strange mixture, almost black. In Malatia and Palu 
the rations issued to a limited number of the actually needy is 
one-half of a small loaf of bread. The Government ration for 
its soldiers and police is three such loaves a day ; that is to 
say, the ration issued to these sufferers is one-sixth of that 
given to those in public service. 

Efforts for Relief. 

Other large towns and villages have various experiences. 
A Relief Commission has been appointed here, and its mem- 
bers have made tours among the villages, prepared a record of 
the destitute, and promised aid. In some cases a small quan- 
tity of grain, sufficient to last four or five days, has been 
given, with the promise that after ten days they should receive 
more. Six weeks have passed, petitions have been given, and 
now the people are told that the grain in the Government 
storehouse is exhausted. 

In some other cases the Commissioners have taken a few 
bushels of wheat from men who have plundered from their 
Christian neighbors hundreds of bushels, and this is doled 
out to those who have been plundered, and the Government 
is credited with great generosity. I have to-day questioned 
several men from a village on this plain, who say that after 
waiting six weeks the Government has given fifty measures 



270 The Cry from Armenia, 

of wheat for the village, which numbers five hundred and 
eighty souls. 

This is an average of fifteen pounds to a person, and they 
understand that they can expect no more. This village was 
plundered of everything. Even many of the doors of their 
houses were carried away ; of their one hundred and ten houses, 
fifty were burned ; fifty men were killed and five wounded. 

"Boundless Humanity and Goodness." 

I have to-day inquired of two intelligent men from Peri, 
the residence of a Kaimakam, in a district north of us, and 
they say that the authorities there received an order from the 
Government here to help the destitute, but that not a particle 
of aid has been rendered, except to such as are willing to 
become Moslems ; and others are given to understand that if 
they wish relief that is the only way to secure it. 

These are illustrations of the " boundless humanity and 
goodness," as they are revealed here. I have no doubt that 
the Central Government appropriates much more than reaches 
the sufferers themselves. Local officials are enriched, as is 
always the case when there is a distribution of relief 

Next to food, the most pressing need now is for clothing 
and bedding. Many were stripped of everything except a 
cotton shirt and drawers, so that those who have food are in 
danger of perishing from cold, as many have already. The 
Government has done nothing in the way of supplying these 
needs, except that in a few cases in the city, it has helped to 
restore stolen beds to their owners. 

I have not heard of the bestowal of a single garment, 
except it may have been recovered plunder, or the giving of a 
yard of cloth to the most needy. The Turks do not aid even 
those of their neighbors who, to save their lives, have accepted 
the Mohammedan faith. There is here and there a Turk who 



The Cry from Armenia, 271 

shows genuine kindness and pity, but the mass of them seem 
to be dead to every such sentiment. 

And here, in justice to the local government, I should say 
that since the disaster which befell us, and for which the 
authorities were largely responsible, we have been carefully 
protected and great courtesy is shown us. We have a new 
Governor-General, who seems to be a very kind man. Our 
Minister, Judge Terrell, has been very energetic, and has 
secured orders from the Sultan himself for our protection. A 
company of a hundred soldiers is quartered on our premises, 
somewhat to our inconvenience. It would seem as though 
years must elapse before we can feel the confidence of former 
times. 

A Scene of Suffering. 

A great relief work is suddenly thrown upon us. We 
have the promise of funds from England and America, and we 
are in the midst of all this suffering. It is a very difficult and 
delicate undertaking. We have asked our Minister to secure 
for us permission from the Central Government to distribute 
relief, for any general public distribution will be sure to excite 
jealousy and opposition. 

Meanwhile, we are employing a good number of men in 
clearing the ruins of our buildings oi rubbish, and the ladies 
are employing women to make underclothing and bedding; 
and they are sending to poor women in the villages, cotton 
and wool to be made into cloth and stockings. We are also 
securing carefully prepared lists of the most needy in all the 
places within reach, and are giving a little money here and 
there, as far as we can, without attracting attention. 

Daily rations of bread are issued in the city to nearly two 
hundred families, who take our tickets to the baker. It is an 
especially delicate matter to assist those who have declared 



272 The Cry from Armenia. 

themselves Moslems. They are afraid to be known as receiv- 
ing aid, as it would expose them to serious danger from their 
new co-religionists. 

Another difficulty is to find means to reach distant places. 
Roads are unsafe, so that money cannot be easily sent ; there 
are no people in such places, with money left, upon whom we 
can draw for funds, and if money is sent, it is not always easy 
to know through whom to dispense it. 

Vast Extent of the Devastation. 

The Lord, however, in answer to our daily prayers, is 
opening channels through which relief can flow out to places 
remote from us. But when one considers the vast extent of 
this disaster, the intensity of the suffering, and the fact that the 
most of the thousands who were killed were men who have 
left widows and children who are dependent, and many of 
whom are in a moral condition worse than their physical 
state ; the picture is overwhelmingly appalling. Add to all 
this the terror under which the whole Christian population 
lives, and we have a condition which, it seems to me, has 
rarely had a parallel in history." 

We present herewith a letter from a prominent Christian 
worker in Armenia to an Armenian lady, of high culture, in 
America. Names are withheld only to avoid adding to the 
danger by which the writers are now surrounded, but the 
truth of the statements, considering their source, admits of no 
doubt. 

December 12, 1895. 

My Dear Sister: — I hope you received my letter of last 
week and learned about our condition. 

After the massacres and the pillages of the i6th and 17th 
of November, the condition of our people became something 
most heartrending. 

Though we do not know yet the exact number of the 



The Cry from Armenia. 273 

killed ones in , it is estimated at 500 to 1 000. Two-thirds 

of all the properties of Christians are pillaged. Every kind 
of business and work is stopped altogether. Everybody is 
shut up in their houses, and no one dares to come out of 
doors. You can understand what it means to our people. 

At the present day we have 4,000 destitute survivors, of 
course all of them being Christians. The Turks are enjoying 
the booty they got from us. I have no doubt our destitution 
shall be doubled in a few weeks. 

Oh, do tell the most heartrending condition of our people 
to the Christian friends in America, and raise money and send 
it to me through the American Board, and I shall disburse it 
in a most judicious way ! It is simply impossible to describe 
the dark scene of the unheard-of cruelties of these two con- 
tinual days' massacre. 

Every day we hear of something new. They placed the 
head of a young man to his gray-haired old father's knees and 
butchered him there. A Turk took eight Armenian men to 
his shop by promising that he should keep and protect them 
there, and immediately went out and brought a few more 
Turks to assist him in butchering them there. 

Mutilating the Dead. 

Seven Armenian young men hid themselves in one of 
their shops. The Turkish soldiers, breaking the door of the 
shop, killed them with bayonets and clubs in their hands. 
After killing our most prominent men (Babigian Garabed- 
agha), they cut off their heads, and, as a disgrace, placed the 
heads on a spear and made a march of rejoicing through the 
streets. Our great market (Baluck laghan) flowed like a 
stream with the blood of the butchered ones there. 

A butcher seized an Armenian at the same market, and 
as he had no bayonet or sword ready at hand, picked up a 
stone from the street and struck his head with it until the 
brain and all the contents of his skull came out, and was 
emptied and crushed. 

Such fiendish and brutal facts are so frequent that we are 
sick. There is no end to these unutterable barbarities and 
hellish horrors, and for all these atrocities there has been no 
]8 



274 The Cry front Armenia. 

cause whatever on the part of the Armenians. They are 
perfectly blameless. 

We do not know how we shall pass this winter. The cold 
season, starvation and misery will no doubt kill as many as 
the Turks have. We are safe at present, but are not allowed 
to go to the town. We still trust God, who can turn all 
these harms of ours to everlasting joy. 

After these terrible slaughters by the Turkish soldiers, 
the Turkish peasantry and the Kurds around the town, encour- 
aged and incited by the soldiers, rushed into the city several 
times and made attacks on the survivors, in addition to the 
pillage and slaughter that already have been done. Hundreds 
of houses and shops have been pillaged, and hundreds of 
families left without food and clothing. Many have lost their 
houses even, which are being torn down by the Moslems, or 
seized by the soldiers to stay in. All trade and work are 
stopped ; the men dare not go out of their houses. 

Reduced to Abject Poverty. 

Many rich and comfortable families have become poor. 
Merchants are ruined. Almost all the houses of the wealthiest 
men are stripped of all furniture and then burned. In some, 
the owners of the houses were burned as well. Those of the 
prominent merchants who are not killed are imprisoned. The 
hospital is full of wounded. The schools stopped, and school- 
rooms full of people who have no houses. 

The Third Church is pillaged. Services are now being 
held in the First Church and Gregorian Church morning and 
afternoon. Very fully attended. People have nothing else 
to do but pray, and they crowd the churches and pour out 
their souls before God. 

You have gone to the United States for a greater work, I 
hope, than getting a building for your Mission. I hope you 
may be the means of saving many of your people from starva- 
tion and death, by opening the hearts of Christian people to 
give for the relief of these suffering thousands. It is estimated 
that 500,000 are reduced to abject want by the recent mas- 
sacres throughout Turkey. 

Oh, the thousands of widows and orphans that are crying 



The Cry from Armenia. 275 

to God to-day! Hundreds of families are sure to starve and 
freeze this winter. 

The poor Armenian nation, persecuted and oppressed 
before, lies now crushed and bleeding and ready to die. The 
horrible things done in the massacre make one feel that Turkey 
is not living in the nineteenth century, but in the most bar- 
barous and cruel ages of the past. Men hewed to pieces, 
beaten to death, bodies left in the streets for the dogs to eat, 
or dragged to the caves and stones thrown over them. Those 
killed in the market were thrown into the moat of the castle, 
and burned altogether. 

Scramble for Spoils. 

Women and children in the houses were not killed, but 
wounded, and clothing torn from them, while their rugs, bed- 
ding, boxes of clothes, dishes and everything had been taken 
from the houses. Ear-rings were torn from-the ears of women 
and girls, tearing the flesh with them; beds and covering 
taken from them. Sick people, and women in confinement, 
had their beds and covering taken from them. 

Many were told to choose between Christ and death, and 
Islam and life. No doubt many, to save themselves, chose 
the latter. Some Christians are protected by their Turkish 
friends. But some treacherously made a show of protection 
only to give them up to be killed by the mob later. 

It is now more than a month since the first outbreak, but 
everything is yet at a standstill. This week a few weavers 
tried to work at their looms, but were so ill-treated by the 
Moslems that they had to flee home again. Only a few who 
have looms in their own houses can venture to weave what 
little material they have on hand. 

Oh, when will peace be established again, and what is to 
become of the Armenians till then ? Every one living is in 
fear of more to follow. It is a condition of living death. 

I am glad you have been saved from seeing the terrible 
condition into which your own town and nearly all our large 
cities have fallen. Poor Marash! Nearly all of the Christian 
houses burned up. But may the Lord show you how you 
can help your poor people where you are. Do what you can 
for your poor dying people. 



276 The Cry from Armenia, 

Atrocities in Many Places. 

The following notes are from various letters received by 
The Independent, N. Y. : 

Kulleth, a Mesopotamia village with a population of about 
looo souls, lost her sheep by a raid of the Kurds on the fourth 
of November, and the next day the village was attacked. The 
Government came to the aid of the villagers with members of 
an Arab tribe, and succeeded in holding out against the 
Kurds. 

At Goeli, a village of nearly 2000 inhabitants, the people 
gathered in the church when attacked by the Kurds on the 
evening of November 7th. The next morning they surren- 
dered, but were protected by troops in their escape to the city 
of Mardin. The number of killed, captives and those in hid- 
ing was not known, but about one-third of the Protestant 
community were unaccounted for. 

At Kala'at-el-Marat, a village of 1500 inhabitants within 
four miles of Mardin, the villagers fled with their goods to 
Dere Zafran, the monastery where the Jacobite Patriarch has 
his official seat. The next day the village and the monastery 
were surrounded by the Kurds. The village was entered, and 
what goods had been put into the village church were taken, 
the doors and windows of the houses even being taken away. 
The Turkish Government sent 100 soldiers to defend the 
monastery, together with the villagers, and they were able to 
hold it against the Kurds. 

The villagers from Benabeel, another village in that vicin- 
ity, fled to a cave high up in the rocks and maintained them- 
selves there against the Kurds for two days, when troops 
arrived from Mardin and escorted 500 men, women and chil- 
dren into the city, among them being the Protestant preacher 
with his wife and small children. 



The Cry from Armenia. 277 

At Arabkir and Malatia the Armenians undertook to defend 
themselves, with the result that the fighting was very severe ; 
but they were overpowered with the loss, so far as can be 
learned, of 5000 Armenians in Malatia, and certainly 2000 in 
Arabkir, while from 500 to 800 Turks were slain. The Pro- 
testant preacher and his wife were saved through the kindness 
of a Turkish officer who was a neighbor In Malatia Grego- 
rians, Catholics and Protestants gathered together in two 
churches and fought for their lives until obliged to surrender. 
One churchful first gave up their arms on condition of being 
protected, but after that they were surrounded, and on the 
next day very many of them were killed. 

Martyrs to their Faith 

Among those killed on the Harput plain were an evan- 
gelist and his wife who had done most' noble work in the 
village until the last moment, although repeatedly urged to 
leave. The wife was first killed by a bullet, and her husband 
had his arms cut off and was then hacked to pieces. One 
noble woman, whose husband was one of the first killed in 
the city of Harput, said : *' I am so glad he is gone, and we 
shall all of us soon follow." The preacher at Keserik was 
awfully tortured and then killed. In one village thirty men 
were taken to the Gregorian Church, among them the Protest- 
ant pastor. 

One by one they were asked if they would accept the 
Moslem faith. On refusing they were killed. The pastor 
was asked the question seven times, and each time he replied : 
" I believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." At 
another village ten men were taken outside and asked to 
choose Mohammedanism or die. One of the best women of 
the place, seeing their fate, said : '' Come, let us cast ourselves 
into the Euphrates and be free." Fifty-five thus chose a 
watery grave. 



278 The Cry from Armenia. 

Two missionary ladies were in the city of Arabkir just 
before the massacre. They wished to go to Harpiat and 
repeatedly requested safeguards from the Government. For 
a long time it was impossible for them to secure the guards, 
but at last one was given. Many times on the way they 
were stopped by bands of Kurds, but passed through without 
harm. 

The day they reached Harput in safety the attack occurred 
at Diarbekir, and on the same day the large town of Maden 
on the Euphrates was destroyed. One of the colporteurs of 
the American Bible Society located at Arabkir was called 
upon to become a Moslem. He raised his hands in prayer, 
and the Turks cut off both hands with a sword and shot him 
dead. 

The Relief Inadequate. 

The relief work in Harpijt is opening up rapidly, and the 
money goes faster and faster; but the missionaries cannot 
begin to keep pace with the needs. On one day came in a 
list of 396 souls from one village, out of more than twice 
that number in the village. These are absolutely destitute. 
Suppose only ten piasters — forty cents — per soul be given to 
them, that is 3,960 piasters, and this is only one village. 
How long will ten piasters last them for food, and how can 
they be clothed ? 

As late as January, 1896, the reign of terror continued, as 
may be seen from the following summary of the situation in 
the columns of one of our most reliable religious journals : 

The week's record of news from Turkey is alarming in the 
extreme. The lawlessness of the Kurds in the eastern 
provinces has grown constantly, and has extended apparently 
to all classes of Moslems. In only one section does there 
seem to be any real opposition to the Turkish Government, 
and that is in the vicinity of Zeitun in the Taurus Mountains 



The Cry from Armenia, 279 

north of Marash. There, according to reports, the Armenians 
besieged the Turkish garrison and compelled it to surrender, 
and notwithstanding the approach of troops, are holding their 
own in opposition. 

Massacres are reported from every section of the country, 
including Erzeroum, Harput, Van, Sivas, the Jebel Tur region 
east of Mardin, where the Jacobites are the only Christians, 
and disturbances from Mosul, Damascus, the whole Hauran, 
and the city of Nablus. Detailed accounts on the best of 
authority state that the massacres have been worse than the 
telegrams have indicated. 

On every hand there is a reign of terror, increased by the 
fact that the Turkish Government is making every effort to 
supply Moslems with arms, while it makes the possession of 
arms by Christians the pretext for the mgst wholesale murder 
and pillage. The situation in all the large cities is terrible, 
and the anxiety is increasing in Constantinople. 

American Missionaries Attacked. 

Hitherto foreigners have been considered reasonably safe, 
but at Harput the mob attacked the premises occupied by the 
American missionaries, and eight out of the twelve houses 
were looted, thus destroying not merely the property of the 
Americans, but the property of many Armenians who had 
taken refuge there. These houses were under the direct 
protection of the Turkish troops, as Minister Terrell had been 
informed by the Government. The missionaries' lives were 
saved, but, according to a telegram from a well known mis- 
sionary to Minister Terrell, in response to an inquiry from 
him, they are in great danger. 

The missionaries at Bitlis have telegraphed to Constanti- 
nople asking for a safe conduct for themselves and their 
families to Van. Armenians are making every effort to escape 



280 The Cry fro7n Armenia. 

from the country, and telegrams from Odessa state that every 
steamer from ports in Asia Minor brings numbers of refugees 
who are mostly destitute. Crowds of refugees are also daily 
crossing the Armenian frontier into Russia. 

The disturbance also is spreading into Arabia, where there 
is organized revolt. There has been a pitched battle between 
Arabs and Turks at Sana, in Yemen. There is trouble also 
in Crete, and the Albanians are threatening revolt. The 
reserves of the Turkish army have been called out, but in 
some sections they absolutely refuse to serve, on the ground 
that they have no assurance of receiving pay or even sufficient 
food. The Turkish Government is making every effort to 
persuade Europe that the trouble is due entirely to the 
Armenians, and makes the usual promises of reform. 

Assassinators Honored. 

Meanwhile the ambassadors at Constantinople report that 
they can secure no answers to questions as to the period when 
the reforms will commence. The Sultan is improving every 
opportunity to decorate and advance men who have been 
identified with the outrages ; and it is reported that the pre- 
sent Grand Vizier, Halil Pasha, is to be succeeded by Shakir 
Pasha, indicating still further defiance of the demands of the 
Powers. 

New plots are also being discovered in Constantinople, and 
there are reports of increased bitterness on the part of the 
Turks against the Sultan. Large numbers of warships are 
gathering in the harbor of Salonica, but as yet there is no 
apparent plan for united action. The English papers, espe- 
cially The Spectator, which speaks with an air of authority, 
assert that Lord Salisbury has a distinct policy of interference 
ready for contingencies, the time to develop which is fast 
approaching. 



The Cry from Armenia. 281 

They, however, say that a joint ultimatum will be pre- 
sented to the Sultan transferring the internal government to 
persons who are trusted by the Powers. If the Sultan refuses 
to grant the demands the combined squadrons will advance 
on Constantinople. On the other hand, it calls attention to 
the fact that any such action may be too late ; that though 
the Sultan is reported as terrified, he shows no sign of aban- 
doning his position of defiance, and that the moment he is 
satisfied that the Powers do not intend to have any trifling 
with their demands, he may retreat to Brusa, where they can- 
not reach him. He is almost insane with fear, and has sent 
orders to the governors throughout the Empire that they 
must stop the disturbances. In view of this it is reported 
that the governments are awaiting the result of these orders 
before proceeding to the extremity of ojccupying Constan- 
tinople. 

A Moslem War. 

Reviewing the foregoing story of outrage, plunder and 
murder, one of our most influential newspapers says : 

The news of the sacking of the missionaries' houses at 
Harpiit will bring home to Americans, as nothing else has, 
the real condition in Turkey. All will be profoundly grateful 
that, so far at least, their lives are safe; yet we cannot fail to 
recognize that any day may bring news that they, too, have 
fallen victims to the " holy war " which for years has been the 
dread of every Christian under Moslem rule, and which there 
is increasing proof has been practically declared by the Mos- 
lem leaders, including the Sultan himself 

That proof is found in the wholesale slaughter of Armen- 
ians all over the country after they have been found to be 
unarmed, in the spread of the massacre to the section in the 
vicinity of Mardin, where there are no Armenians but Jacobites, 
against whom no whisper of a charge of revolution has ever 



282 The Cry from Armenia. 

been uttered ; in the furnishing of arms to Moslem villagers 
and the punishment of every Christian found with arms ; in 
the repeated statements of Turkish officials of a determined 
purpose to destroy the Armenians before the reforms can be 
secured, and now in the absolute disregard of solemn promises 
for the protection of American lives and property. 

The outlook is indeed dark. American missionaries are 
located all over the land, in Bitlis, Van, Mardin, Sivas, Cesarea, 
Marsovan, Aintab, Marash, Adana, Tarsus, Hajin, Brusa and 
Nicomedia, as well as in Constantinople and Smyrna. Which 
company will be the next to suffer no one can tell. The Bitlis 
missionaries have telegraphed to Constantinople asking for 
safe conduct to Van. It is a wild country through which 
they must go. Can their escort be trusted? 

It is not sufficient that verbal assurances be given to 
Minister Terrell and the State Department. The only argu- 
ment that can avail in the present crisis is the argument of 
force. The presence of the allied fleets in the Bosphorus, with 
their guns trained on the Sultan's palace, will do more than 
anything else to insure safety not only for Americans, but for 
every Christian subject of the Turkish Government. If that 
fails, then troops must occupy every available point, and high 
officials held as hostages for Christian lives. 

America, who is not tied up with political complications, 
may be called upon to act independently. The White Squad- 
ron could be sent on no better errand. 

The following appeal in verse voices in a striking manner 
the Christian sentiment of America. Always when great 
wrongs are committed the conscience of the world utters its 
condemnation. In how many instances, as in the present, the 
voice of wrath and rebuke is heard too late. The deeds that 
shock high heaven are done, and there is now no redress. 



The Cry from Armenia. 283 

Armenia's Bitter Cry. 

BY HETTA LORD HAYES WARD. 

World, world, hear our prayer! 
Oh where is Russia, where ? 
A fearful deed is done ; 
Its glare affronts the sun. 

Smoke ! Flame ! Fire ! 
Rouse thee, great Russian Sire ! 
When Christian homes are ablaze, 
Hast thou no voice to raise ? 
Thy neighbor to thee has cried ; 
Pass not on the other side. 
Look on our dire despair ! 
Where art thou, Czar, oh, where ? 

Land of the sun and sea. 
Wake, Rome and Italy ! 
Our ancient Church in vain > 
Calls thee to break her chain. 
Shame ! Shame ! Shame ! 
Where sleeps thy early fame ? 
To death our priests are led. 
Their flocks lie slaughtered, dead. 
Awake, good Pope of Rome ! 
Our saints through blood go home ; 
Hear thou their dying plea, 
Where, where is Italy ? 

Land of Fraternity, 
Brave France, turn not away ! 
Shall blood thy lihes stain ? 
Wilt bear the curse of Cain ? 
Wake ! Wake ! Wake ! 
For God and glory's sake ! 
On a ghastly funeral pyre, 
Brave men are burned with fire: 
God calls to France, the free, 
"Thy brother, where is he ?" 
Lest God in wrath requite. 
Awake, befriend the right ! 



284 The Cry from Armenia, 



Where is good Frederick's son 
When evil deeds are done ? 
Shall prisons reek and rot, 
His mother's blood speak not? 

Haste ! Haste! Haste! 
Time runs too long to waste. 
If halts the Kaiser dumb, 
Let all the people come. 
Your oath must sacred stand. 
Treaties of Fatherland ; 
Victims of Turk and Kurd 
Rest on your plighted word. 

Your sisters' shame and blood 
Cry out to England's God. 
Slain on the church's floor, 
Their blood flowed out the door. 

Speak I Speak ! Speak I 
The strong must help the weak. 
Leave Turkish bonds unsold ; 
Betray not Christ for gold. 
Let the Moslem dragon feel 
Once more Saint George's heel. 
England, awake, awake! 
World, hear, for Jesu's sake ! 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Shame of Christendom. 

One or two things about the outburst of fury against the 
Armenians which has swept over the Turkish Empire ought 
to be clearly understood. 

In the first place these massacres were not " conflicts/' 
except that in nearly every case some personal encounter 
between one or two individuals is made the excuse for a 
rising of savages who have carefully prepared for such an 
opportunity against the hated giaours. To this rule the 
affair at Zeittin was an exception ; and th^re may be others in 
that region, for there is no doubt that the revolutionists have 
been planning for a rebellion in Cilicia for some time, and we 
have not the details to show to the contrary. 

The conflict in Constantinople consisted of three sharp 
brushes between police and Armenians about noon on Sep- 
tember 30, 1895. No one can blame the police for killing 
the men who fell in those street fights in the attempt to restore 
order, if it was really necessary to break up the assembly of 
Armenians. All Armenians killed after two o'clock on that 
day were killed in cold blood and because they were 
" giaours,'' or " infidels." They were all, or nearly all, 
innocent people, so far as any disturbance of the peace was 
concerned. 

At Ak Hissar (October 9th, near Adabazar) the Turks came 
to the village on the market day armed, and began by search- 
ing Armenians to see if they had arms. The " conflict " took 
place after they had satisfied themselves that the people were 

285 



286 The Shame of Christendom. 

unarmed. A Turk went up to an Armenian dealer in dried 
meat and seized his knife, crying out that he was armed. 
" Why, that is what I cut my meat with," said the Armenian, 
trying to get the knife back. '^ And I will cut you with it," 
said the Turk, stabbing him. That began the butchery and 
the loot of the bazar. 

At Trebizond an Armenian tried to kill the ex-Governor of 
Van in the street. The Turks then began to talk massacre, 
and a week later an Armenian going home in the evening 
found himself pursued by some Turks. He fled ; the men 
were gaining on him, and he fired at the supposed robbers. 
One of the Turks was killed. This was the " conflict " in this 
case. The next day the Turks suddenly began to fire upon 
the Armenian shopkeepers. They killed 700 o** Soo, and 
looted every Armenian shop in the city. 

Hundreds Slain at Bitlis. 

At Bitlis eight hundred were killed, and there is every 
reason to believe that the *^ conflict " was of this nature, since 
the Government only claims ten Turkish dead. So much 
loss is accounted for, as at Trebizond, by the Turks being 
killed by their own people's stray bullets, or, in a few cases, 
by their encountering resistance when they were breaking 
into houses. 

It cannot be denied that the Government began to dis- 
tribute arms to the Moslem villagers in some parts of the 
country; and since the outbreak in Constantinople they have 
shown great stringency in punishing Armenians found with 
arms, and great eagerness to aid Turks to buy them. About 
the same time the Governor of Palu was indiscreet enough to 
say to the Armenians that the Sultan had decided to reform 
them, but the reform would be with the sword. This speech 
was reported to the British Embassy, and the Governor was 



The Shame of Christendom. 287 

removed. The officers in the Sultan's palace have been in 
the habit of saying that the Powers will be welcome to all the 
good they can get out of the reform scheme after the Sultan 
has finished with the Armenians, in case he is forced to 
accept it. 

All the massacres have been coolly conducted. Care has 
been taken to avoid killing any but Armenians, and the police 
have been spectators of most of the outrages, and have 
repeated constantly the warning not to kill women and small 
children. At Ak Hissar they added, " For the women and 
children will fall to us after the men are all killed." In no 
case have Turks who killed Armenians been interfered with 
since the crime, and in no case has the Government made any 
expression of disapproval. Instead of this it has uniformly 
tried to cover up the facts. 

Denial of the Massacres. 

On October 25th and 26th, 1895, hundreds of Armenians 
at Marash were killed, and the heads of the three Christian 
communities united in a telegram begging for protection, 
which their Governor had failed to give. The next day the 
Porte sent out an official declaration that these Bishops (and 
the Protestant pastor) who sent the telegram had lied, and 
that no massacre had taken place. Since then it has 
attempted to suppress all private telegrams into the interior, 
and has forbidden all travel in any direction, lest the facts 
come out. All this points in the one direction of the sym- 
pathy of the Central Government with the operation of killing 
off the giaours. 

It seems inconceivable that men can do these things and 
have no qualms of conscience. But if any one will read the 
canon law that is studied in all of the Moslem schools, he will 
find minute discussions of the treatment to be accorded to 



288 The Shame of Christendom, 

unbelievers who pay the tribute that saves their lives. All 
of these discussions center about the one principle, that 
" giaours/' or '' infidels," have a right to live as long as it is 
convenient to the Moslem State, on condition of paying tri- 
bute. But if they refuse the tribute or for any other reason 
become a nuisance, the Imam may order their destruction ; 
and in that case their women and their goods become the pro- 
perty of the men who kill them, after the Sultan's fifth has 
been taken out. Consequently when the Imam has ordered 
the slaughter of the Armenians, no one has the slightest feel- 
ing of guilt in doing it. 

A Burning Question. 

Every judge and lawyer, and most of the governors, and all 
of the religious teachers are brought up on this canon law. 
The question what the world is to do with a religion that 
insists on such license is going to become a burning one soon. 
A Turkish Governor lately remarked that Islam is not blood- 
thirsty. When these laws were cited, he replied : " Oh, but 
you see that is only when the giaour becomes a nuisance." 
He was asked what they could do if they considered the 
giaour a nuisance and yet the giaour does nothing against the 
State. He answered : " Well, if it comes to that, we have to 
find some way of making him do something that will justify 
the penalty.'' This contains the whole policy of Turkey for 
the last five years. It has been to goad the Armenians into 
rebellion so as to have a justification for the predetermined 
massacre. 

Not even in the darkest days of the Middle Ages or under 
the terrible onslaught of the Huns was there manifest so dia- 
bolical a spirit as has been revealed in the course of the 
massacres carried out under the express orders of the Turkish 
Government. It has not been a wild outburst of untamed 



The Shame of Christendom, 289 

fury, but a cool, well-laid plan for slaughter, rapine, and out- 
rage. 

The severity of the blow has been only equaled by the self- 
restraint that waited until everything was ready, and then 
carefully singled out the victims, choosing those whose life 
was most to be feared, whose death could give the fullest 
immediate return in booty, material and human. Even the 
stoutest arm wearies with repeated blows, and ammunition is 
not inexhaustible. Therefore the orders went out, " Kill the 
men ; the women and children will then fall to us ! " 

One Story Everywhere. 

The story is the same everywhere. Terror on the part of 
the Christians; quiet, soothing words from the Turkish 
officials, assuring all of the protection his Imperial Majesty 
accorded to all his subjects ; mitigation of the fear and partial 
restoration of confidence ; the opening of shops ; and then, at 
some fixed hour, in every part of the cities, murder — and such 
murder ! Cool, calm, implacable. Pleas for mercy met with 
the bullet or the sword, and that too not of ordinary brigands, 
but of the uniformed officers and soldiers of the Government. 

After murder came robbery, until not a shop was left whose 
contents had not been distributed among the fiends. This 
was the case in Trebizond, Erzrum, Plarpiit, Sivas, Marash, 
Aintab, Diarbekir — all the large cities of Eastern and South- 
ern Turkey. 

But this was not all. For half a century American mis- 
sionaries have been carrying on their work in these same 
places. Turks as well as Christians have paid them high 
honor, for nobility of character and self-sacrificing devotion. 
They were protected by treaty rights, and solemn promises 
were given by the Turkish Government that those rights 
would be respected. Yet in two cities at least, Harpiit and 



290 The Shame of Christendom. 

Marash, the officers of that Government stood by and saw 
their homes pillaged and destroyed. Whose turn it will be 
next only God knows. 

There are some lights in the darkness. The courage of 
those missionaries, facing the disaster, fully conscious of the 
peril, yet never swerving a hair's breadth from duty, and refus- 
ing to leave those whom their sympathy may comfort and 
their presence encourage, is sublime. One such wrote : 

*' Every letter that I have written home for two months 
past, I have written with the feeling that it may be my last. 
This will give you an idea of the constant strain under which 
we live. At any moment the earth may open and swallow 
us up," 

He has been warned by officials that his life is in peril, yet 
every day he goes to and fro doing his duty, as calmly as in 
the days of Shiloh and Fort Donelson. We know of others, 
a husband and wife in another city. The husband urged the 
wife to take the children to Constantinople. She refused, and 
bound up wounds, comforting the bereaved, imparting her 
own high courage to the terror-stricken women about her. 
And they are not alone. All over the land American men 
and women are meeting the most fearful peril with simple 
trust in God. , 

What Will the End Be? 

What the end will be and when it will come, no mortal can 
foresee. The responsibility rests not merely upon the Sultan 
and his advisers, but upon the Governments of Europe. If 
their mutual jealousy be the cause of their delay, then let 
them beware lest when vengeance falls, as fall it will, it do 
not overwhelm them as well as the Government they are pro- 
tecting. 

With the diffusion of intelligence there has developed 
material prosperity. The advance of the Christian races of 



The Shame of Chris tendmn. 291 

the Empire during the past half century has been marvelous. 
Gradually improved methods of agriculture and business crept 
in ; homes were neater ; there was more of frugality ; foreign 
interests developed, and with all came prosperity and wealth. 
This aroused the envy of the Moslem leaders, and has had not 
a little share in stirring up the present outrages. The thing, 
however, that gave force to this advance, and that made the 
Moslem desperate, was the increase in moral and religious 
power. In those respects the change that has come over the 
Empire has been great. 

When the missionaries commenced work among the Armen- 
ians they had no thought of founding a separate Church. To 
this they were, however, forced by the ignorant hostility of 
the clergy. To-day that has ceased ; and in every part of the 
land the wisest and best of the ecclesiastics welcome the mis- 
sionaries for what they have done in developing a higher 
purity of life, a greater integrity of character, a more spiritual 
worship. 

Work of Devoted Missionaries. 

All this is the direct result of the earnest, faithful, constant 
labors of the missionaries. To speak of it as in any sense a 
failure is absurd. To deride those who have been instru- 
mental in bringing it about is monstrous. To allow it to be 
destroyed, as it will be if the present situation continues, 
would be criminal. It has received a blow from which it 
cannot recover for many years to come. Christendom must 
see to it that the light is not totally extinguished. 

A daily journal in Montreal, Canada, quoted an appeal to 
England from one of our religious journals, and said : 

" All this while the United States is the only country of 
whose influence no other country is jealous, and that is free 
to act ; and the only one that, through the outrages on her 
missionaries, has a distinct quarrel." 



292 The Shame of Christendom. 

To which the journal that published the appeal replied as 
follows : 

This is worth considering, and we are considering it. 

But if we appeal first to England, it is because it would 
be impertinent for us to offer to interfere until England has 
declined to do her duty. By the treaty of Berlin the powers 
agreed to protect the integrity of Turkey, and it is made the 
special duty of England to protect the Christians of Turkey, 
and see that the Porte does not massacre or oppress them. 

Politically we are outsiders. We are not parties to that 
treaty. A special power, and that power Great Britain, has 
this responsibility; and if we ask Lord Salisbury to do his 
duty, it is because he took that duty upon Great Britain, and 
so upon himself, he being Prime Minister. 

The United States may have to Act. 

If, now, he refuses to do this duty, or if Russia tells him 
he need not, from some fear that England will gain some 
political advantage, or because, as appears to be the case, in 
any interference of Great Britain and the other Powers, Russia 
will fail to get possession of Constantinople, or as big a slice 
of Turkey as she wants, then it may be that Great Britain, 
having failed to do, or to be able to do, her duty, that duty 
may fall to the United States. 

It looks, at present, as if Great Britain were the only one 
of the six signatory powers that really is influenced by any 
feeling of sympathy, and really wishes to do anything to pro- 
tect the persecuted Christians. Germany holds back as indif- 
ferent as in the time of Bulgaria's agony. Austria is domi- 
nated by Germany. Italy is too isolated and too occupied 
with her Abyssinian war to do anything by herself France 
waits as a humble lackey on the will of Russia, and Russia is 
not ready. 



The Shame of Christendom. 293 

Intervention is very likely to mean partition. The 
powers that intervene have got to hold territory, and may 
not give it up. To protect the Armenians of Eastern Turkey 
Russia must send an army to Erzrum and Van, and France, 
Austria, Italy, Germany and England their armies and navies 
to Constantinople and the Mediterranean coast. Russia would 
thus hold a big piece of territory along the Black Sea, perhaps 
down to the Persian Gulf; but that would not satisfy her. 

Russia's Great Purpose. 

She means to have Constantinople and Jerusalem. She 
regards herself as the successor of the Greek Empire, as well 
as of the Greek Church, and to her, therefore, must come the 
old capital of Constantine and holy city of Helena. An inter- 
vention of England and the other powers might put off inde- 
finitely the accomplishment of this purpose. She will do 
nothing, and allow nothing which wfll interfere with her 
" manifest destiny." The pear, when ripe, will fall, she thinks, 
into her lap, and she does not want it plucked prematurely. 

Besides, Russia is now very busy with even more pressing 
issues in the far East. There has been a war between China 
and Japan, and the latter power has seized Korea and Chinese 
ports on which Russia has cast a covetous eye. First Japan 
must be driven out of Korea and China, and a big part of 
Chinese territory must be acquired by Russia, and this will 
brook no delay. Therefore Russia will forbid and prevent 
England's intervention in Turkey. 

Unless there be some massacre of Greeks, or some uprising 
of young Turks in Constantinople, or an insurrection and 
slaughter in Jerusalem affecting Russian interests there, it 
now seems as if Russia would block the way to any vigorous 
action by England or any other European power. 

If no European power does anything, then has the United 



294 The Shaine of Christendom. 

States any duty ? This is a very serious question which we 
commend to the most careful attention of President Cleve- 
land and Secretary Olney. As our Montreal contemporary 
has said, the United States is the only country of whose influ- 
ence no other country is jealous, and which is thus perfectly 
free to act ; while, at the same time, it is the only one which, 
through the outrages on her citizens, has a distinct quarrel. 
These outrages on our citizens are already of such a magni- 
tude that they justify and demand our interference, not for 
any territorial aggrandizement or any political purpose, but 
simply in the long line of our action for the protection of oui* 
people abroad. 

Destruction of American Property. 

Large amounts of American property have been destroyed ; 
our citizens are now practically prisoners in such of their 
houses as have not been burned ; their homes have been 
sacked, and they are in daily danger of their lives. It is a 
duty of our Government to see that they are protected. We 
have hitherto depended very much on England to do it ; now 
we must depend on ourselves. We have blustered, and we 
have threatened the Porte, and this has done no good. Against 
our warnings our buildings have been destroyed at Harput and 
Marash and elsewhere, and it is time for us to do something. 

But this is not all. Turkey is, by the consent of all 
Christendom in its dealings with her, a semi-barbarous power. 
No strong civilized power should allow a barbarous people 
to murder its citizens ; and least of all can Christian nations 
stand still and see tens of thousands of subject Christians 
made martyrs because they believe in the same Saviour whom 
we honor. We are brethren, as Christians ; more than that, 
we are all brethren as human beings, and we have brotherly 
duties to our fellow-men. We may not be a proud, vain, 



The Shame of Christendom, 295 

selfish, overbearing, grasping nation among weaker nations, 
but we have some duty in the policing of the world and the 
putting down of piracy and massacre. Perhaps the time 
has come — we think it has — for us to wait no longer for the 
European powers to act. 

We believe that if we should send our strongest force to 
the ports of the Mediterranean, perhaps to Constantinople 
itself, or if we should send a thousand or more soldiers or 
marines as a police force to protect our citizens and our 
property in Adana, Tarsus and Marash, England, and Italy 
and Germany and Austria would be delighted to see it done, 
and the result would be immediately good. Are we not 
ready for it ? Shall we not protect our citizens and our 
property, which Turkey cannot protect? In doing this we 
shall take no part in the political affairs of the Old World, 
and — if anybody worries about it — we ^shall not in any way 
impair our Monroe Doctrine. 

First and Imperative Duty. 

When our neighbor's house is burning we do not need to 
stop any longer to watch an election bonfire. When the 
Christian population of. Turkey is being murdered we can 
adjourn our difficulty with Great Britain until we have first 
protected the Armenians. The Monroe Doctrine, with all its 
applications, will not spoil if we keep it on ice for a little 
while. 

With no prejudice to all our duties of protection to Vene- 
zuela, we protest that there is a much greater duty on hand 
just now, one that more closely affects our own people who 
have come from the Armenian country to live with us, many 
thousands of them, and our own citizens, hundreds of them, 
who are carrying on their lawful pursuits in that unhappy 
land. Without forgetting Venezuela, but letting it cool in 



296 The Shame of Christendom. 

the pot of diplomacy for a while, we had better hurry up to 
rescue those who are caught in that burning house. 

But the apathy of people next to it is shocking, is dis- 
graceful. No wonder that we hear from Constantinople the 
cry, ''We are ashamed of the nations of Christendom.'^ 
The repeated, the continued massacres are enough to make 
heathen Japan intervene, just out of human sympathy. Of 
course the first duty of intervention and protection rests on 
the powers which have agreed by treaty to be responsible for 
the continued existence of Turkey, and for the defense of its 
Christian subjects from persecution ; that is, on England, 
assisted — or hindered — by Russia and the other nations whose 
councils and armies maintain the sacred " balance of power." 

But they do absolutely nothing, It is the most amazing 
exhibition of incompetence, inefficiency and iniquity in the 
history of Europe We repeat the cry from Constantinople. 
We are ashamed of the nations of Christendom. 

The Shame of England. 

We may be more indignant with selfish Russia or Germany, 
but we are ashamed of England. That country has its special 
duties to protect the Armenians, put upon it by obligation of 
treaty. We know that Salisbury says that he can do nothing 
without the consent of the other powers ; but we declare that 
the horrors of massacre and of forced apostasy are such that 
it is no time to wait for consent. It is a time for intervention. 
The English fleet ought to be ordered immediately to seize 
Constantinople, and then the Russian and Italian and French 
fleets would be quick enough to seize the other ports. 

Then the Government of Turkey should be put immediately 
into commission ; and at whatever danger of temporary dis- 
order, which cannot be worse than what now exists, order 
should be restored, the assassins reduced to submission and 



The Shame of Christendom, 297 

punished, the captive women and children restored, and time 
taken to decide how Turkey can be safely governed in future. 
We are heartily ashamed of England that she does not take 
the lead in this duty which is hers first. 

But Great Britain and the other powers have as yet done 
nothing. Each says it is hindered by the others. Meanwhile, 
the house is burning down, and is there not time for the 
neighbors a little further away to come to the help, seeing 
that the neighbors near by are so busy quarreling as to which 
will loot the plunder that not one of them can get near the 
fire? Has not the United States a duty of intervention? 

The Higher Law of Humanity. 

We fully believe that this is our duty, and that, too, noc 
because our citizens need protection, although that were 
enough, but from the vastly higher obligation of humanity. 
Have we a right to stand still while fifty thousand men are 
slaughtered, martyred because they are Christians, because 
they refuse to accept the Moslem faith, and while their women 
and children are seized and carried to the harems of the 
Turks? No. If the man next door does not run to the help, 
then we should. We do not need to wait till our own citizens 
are also killed. All international law, all decency, all brother- 
hood, all Christianity require us, these United States, to make 
forcible and effective intervention. 

It is too late now to prevent the massacres past ; there is 
no time to be lost in saving those who remain ; and, seeing 
that the United States is not at all concerned in the political 
outcome there, and is more interested than all other countries 
put together, so far as the protection of her citizens is con- 
cerned, we trust that speedy action may be taken, much more 
vigorous, and that shall back up with force the threats of 
our Minister at Constantinople. We have not a very big 



298 The Sha^ne of Christendom. 

navy, but we have ships enough for this purpose, and we can 
charter all the transports needed. 

We are not impressed by the widely- repeated declaration 
that the warning given by the United States to Great Britain, 
that the Monroe Doctrine must be enforced, has emancipated 
Great Britain from all obligation to protect the Armenian 
Christians from their murderous oppressors. The war scare, 
precipitated by a paragraph in the President's message, more 
plain-spoken than diplomatic, lasted but two days. 

Side Issues no Excuse. 

It was a foolish scare, for it was inconceivable that our two 
Governments should not come to a peaceable conclusion of 
their difficulties without dishonor to either. Great Britain's 
duties are not changed, for we are not going to tie her hands. 
If we had any serious quarrel with her we could adjourn it in 
the interests of humanity. 

The lawless invasion of a semi-independent State in South 
Africa by British subjects, in defense of their fellow-subjects 
against real wrongs, has aroused Europe to indignant denun- 
ciations of England. Our beloved mother country seems to 
be attacked on every side, even although the British Govern 
ment has done its best, at the last hour, to prevent the filibus- 
tering movement of Dr. Jameson's army. 

The dispatch of the German Emperor is positively and 
insultingly hostile, and invites the Free Republic to throw off 
all its allegiance to England in foreign affairs. He definitely 
interferes with the British colonial policy; and France is 
echoing Germany. This is really serious; it is no two-days' 
scare. 

It may compel Great Britain to call back part of her fleet 
from the door of the Dardanelles. If our little warning over 
Venezuela could excuse Great Britain from doing her boun- 



The Shame of Christendom, 299 

den duty for the Armenians, then Germany's threat does it 
tenfold more. And we fear that it does it effectually. We 
suspect that, for the present, Great Britain is annihilated as a 
factor in the protection of the Armenian Christians. 

A Startling Possibility. 

What then? Possibly Russia, England being out of the 
way, may feel that she has a free hand even to take Constan- 
tinople, and wipe out the Turk. But that is so tremendous 
a possibility, and might so involve a European war, that we 
can hardly believe it probable. It is more likely that, since 
the only power is crippled that has any Christian sympathy, 
nothing will be done, and the Porte will be left at liberty to 
murder to his heart's content, and once more offer the alter- 
native of the sword or the Koran, as he has done so many 
times before. 

Calamity has overtaken the American missions in Turkey. 
During the storm of blood and fire, by which Islam has com- 
mended itself to its subjects and the world, these missions 
have been special objects of malice. To the aggressors the 
missions represent the source of the enlightenment and civiliza- 
tion, to eradicate which the massacres were ordained. 

Of the destruction which has overtaken the Harput station 
of the American Board's mission, the whole country is aware. 
Four buildings out of twelve remain, stripped of every particle 
of their contents, torn with bullets and cannon balls, blackened 
with fire, and surrounded by the grim ash-heaps which are all 
that remain of the other buildings gradually erected during 
the last forty years to be the centre of operations for this noble 
station. 

Of the desolation which has overwhelmed Marash station, 
the American churches have also heard. The Theological 
Seminary there is a pile of smoking ruins, and the two other 



300 The Shame of Christendom, 

buildings in the same enclosure stand pillaged and empty. 
Whatever the attacking soldiers could not carry away or did 
not value, was destroyed by ruffian hands through sheer 
hatred of the teachings against which they had been called 
into action. 

Disasters to be Remedied. 

Thus far the missionaries in all of the stations have been 
almost miraculously saved from death. But congratulations 
are misplaced which regard the safety of the persons of the 
missionaries as sufficient cause for condoning the loss of prop- 
erty which they have suffered. The lives of the missionaries 
are not all in which the American churches have an interest 
in Turkey. Disaster has overtaken the general equipment of 
the American Board's missions in Turkey. This equipment 
is the property of the American churches. 

Since 1830 the churches have spent more than six millions 
of dollars upon the equipment, maintenance and development 
of these missions. Except Constantinople and three other 
stations in the extreme west of Asia Minor, all of the Am.eri- 
can Board's stations have suffered more heavily than was sup- 
posed. Information oozes but slowly from under the nau- 
seous mass of falsehood which seeks to cover up the facts. 

Probably at least one hundred of the village chapels and 
school-houses have been pillaged and destroyed, or seized by 
the Mohammedans for purposes of their own. Five-sixths 
of the stock of the books which the American Board and the 
American Bible Society had placed on sale in scores of the 
depots and salesrooms in various parts of the country, have 
been carried off, cast into rivers and ponds, or used, after satu- 
ration with petroleum, as convenient instruments of incen- 
diarism. 

Congregations have been scattered, schools are broken np, 
leading micn are dead, and numbers of Christian women and 



The Shame of Christendom, 301 

children are missing. The congregations, in general, are 
financially ruined, and their members are among those now 
dependent on charity for daily bread. For years past these 
congregations have been paying about one-half of the aggre- 
gate expense of maintaining pastors and schools under the 
care of the American Board in Turkey. 

Slaughter of the Faithful. 

This power of sustaining evangelistic work has vanished. 
More than all this, as the reports come in, the roll of the dead 
among the pastors and preachers and teachers is constantly 
increasing. Pastor Kilijjian, of Sivas, was killed, and his 
body laid in a trench, with 800 other mangled corpses, to rest 
until the day when it shall be raised in glory. Seven pastors 
in the Harpiit station field are already known to have died 
the martyr's death, willingly testifying ta their faith in Jesus 
Christ when told that they must die if they did not deny Him. 
The head teacher of the boys' school at Bitlis is dead, and his 
bruised and gashed body was found, after long search, lying 
naked in the mud of a street. Teacher Leon, of Marash, was 
flayed alive. The full facts will be long in coming to light; 
but a great reduction in the number of workers in these mis- 
sions is to be expected. At first sight the enterprise of the 
American Board in Turkey appears to be all but annihilated, 
so far as its most important and most interesting branch is 
concerned, the village evangelistic work. 

But ask the missionaries what of the future, and all speak, 
in one voice. That band at Harplat, saved by the hand of God 
from the hail of bullets, stripped of all their possessions and 
left huddled together in the bare houses surrounded by smok- 
ing ruins, and within sight of the bodies of slaughtered 
parishioners, in almost their first utterance after the disaster, 
said: "Please do not order us to leave Harput/' In that 



302 The Shame of Christendom. 

utterance they spoke for all the missionaries in Turkey who 
have passed through this baptism of fire. 

The very disaster which has overwhelmed the missions of 
the American Board has opened the way for a glorious work 
for God and humanity. To leave the country now would 
seem to the missionaries the desertion of a sacred trust, the 
abandonment of a unique opportunity for doing Christ's own 
work, and the casting away of the fruitage from the labor of 
more than half a century. No, the missionaries cannot leave 
Turkey. 

American Sympathy Demanded. 

But the American churches must also rise to the height 
of the present opportunity to show this stricken people and 
their persecutors what Christianity really is. God's Provi- 
dence now calls to the churches to rally to the support of 
the American Board in an effort to extract beauty from 
ashes. While the whole nation is grandly moving to feed 
and clothe the bodies of the starving, let not the need of the 
stricken souls be forgotten. 

Let the Board be furnished with ample funds to restore 
its equipment, and to prosecute its great work of comfort 
and enlightenment with renewed vigor. The people are 
listening as never before to the comforting words of God's 
promises. Onward ! is the Master's call in this emergency. 
Let advance along the whole line be the program of the 
churches everywhere in reference to the American Board. 

Americans have invested millions in the enterprise of 
missions in Turkey. This enterprise, so far as the laws are 
concerned, is a pure question of business. American citizens 
choose to invest large sums of money in a lawful enterprise 
in Turkey, which they have carried on for many years with 
the strictest regard to the laws of the land. 

Whether the enterprise which occupies American citizens 



The Shame of Christendom. 303 

and American capital in Turkey is mining or railroad build- 
ing, or, as in the case of the missions, it is the manufacture 
and sale of books, or the erection of a large system of educa- 
tional institutions, the treaties guarantee its protection, and 
the millions of American gold invested in it are entitled to 
the protection of the United States against attack by the 
Turkish people or the Turkish Government. The disaster 
which has come upon the missions of the Board is not the 
work of a great popular uprising or of a revolution outside 
of the control of the Ottoman Government. It is the deliber- 
ate act of the Ottoman Government itself. 

Hatred of Civilization. 

The present administration of government in Turkey 
dislikes the civilization which its predecessors invited and 
protected when the missions were being organized. It there- 
fore has set at nought all treaties with, the United States, and 
has ordered its officials, its troops and its people to unite in 
destroying the property and the business of these Americans 
of the missionary force. 

The hundreds of thousands of American citizens who have 
invested their money in this great enterprise and are the real 
owners and shareholders of the property thus destroyed, 
should let the Government at Washington know that protec- 
tion of their agents where they are, and not mere provision of 
ships to take them away because the Sultan has changed his 
mind about observing treaties, is the aim which the importance 
of the capital invested demands of the United States to-day. 

As information comes in from the districts south of Eastern 
Turkey, the proof increases that the whole series of massacres 
in Bitlis, Diarbekir, Erzrum, Harput, etc , were under the 
direct supervision of the Turkish Government. The city of 
Mardin is about sixty miles south of Diarbekir, on the edge 



304 The Shame of Chidstendom, 

of the great Mesopotamia plain. To the east lies the region 
of Jebel Tur, occupied by Jacobites and Kurds. The Kurds 
are in some respects bolder and more aggressive than their 
fellows to the north, but not more brutal. 

A Successful Defense. 

As the news came of the sacking of Diarbekir their taste 
lor plunder was whetted, and they began to form plans for 
attacks upon Mardin itself, and Midyat, the chief city of the 
Jebel Tiir region. They gathered in large numbers, and with 
no city walls it seemed as if the cities would be at their mercy. 

Representations were immediately made to the Governor 
of the city. All available troops were called out, and troops 
and citizens, both Christian and Moslem, combined in defense, 
with the result that both of these cities have been spared, and 
are considered to be out of danger. More than that, the 
troops were sent to a number of villages that were threatened 
by the Kurds, drove back the marauders, and brought the 
people under the protection of the Government in the city. 

Similar statements come from Mosul. There, too, there 
were fears of an incursion of the Kurds from the region of 
Rowandiz — the same men who, under Sheik ObeiduUah, rav- 
aged the plain of Urumia about fourteen years ago. There, 
too, the Governor acted with promptness and determination, 
and not merely saved the city, but infused not a little courage 
into the minds of the people. 

Contrast with these facts those at Bitlis, HarpCit and else- 
where. In Bitlis, at the sound of the bugle, the markets were 
closed, and the entrapped merchants cut down in their stalls. 
At the sound of the bugle the killing stopped, and the pillage 
began, and went on till every Christian shop was looted. 

At Harpiit, after a parley with the Kurds, the Turkish 
troops drew up on an eminence below the city, and, when 



The Shame of Christendom. 305 

ordered to fire, fired not at the Kurds, but at the city itself, 
the marks of their bullets appearing in the walls of the 
American houses, and one of their bombs being found in a 
ruined house. The same facts occurred in Erzrum, Diarbekir, 
Trebizond ; every place where there was massacre. 

Note, also, the fact that not a single Greek village has been 
attacked, though there are many in the vicinity of Trebizond, 
Cesarea and Marsovan. Was there no significance in the fact 
that even in Diarbekir the massacre and pillaging stopped as 
suddenly as they had begun, and was there no connection 
between it and the fact that the French Ambassador sent 
word to the Porte that, if any damage at all came to the 
French Consulate in that city, a French fleet would hold 
Alexandretta until the head of the Governor had fallen ? 

So also when a band of Kurds, inflamed by their success 
in the Harput plain, wandered west, they were met by Turkish 
officials on the border of the Province of Sivas, and told to go 
back; that there was nothing for them there; that work had 
been done. They grumbled, but they turned back. 

Base Hypocrisy. 

If the Turkish Government could protect Mardin and 
Mosul, and the French Consulate at Diarbekir, and turn the 
Kurds back from Sivas, it is the height of absurdity for it to 
say that it could do nothing at Harput, Bitlis and Erzriim. 
It could even have done more, for the Kurds of the South are 
more to be dreaded than the kinsmen of the North, and the 
Turkish garrisons are weaker. It has been the boast of those 
who defended Abdul Hamid II., that he was so deeply inter- 
ested in the welfare of his people that he must know their 
affairs to the minutest detail. 

Not a school was to be established, not a ship repaired, not 

a house built without his supervision. Their own arguments 
-20 



306 The Shame of Christendom. 

return on them with terrible force. If he did not know of the 
massacres, then he is an ignorant puppet in the hands of his 
Ministers. If he did know but could not stop them, he is an 
absolute incompetent. If he not only knew but condoned or 
even ordered the destruction of a nation, he is a criminal to be 
ranked with the Neros, Caligulas, and Borgias of infamy. 

A Question of Personal Obligation. 

Just now the attention of the world is turned to Turkey and 
the Armenian people. Those who are not interested in the 
mission work are interested in the terrible events of the last 
few months and the efforts made to relieve the suffering and 
starving thousands there. The Christians of America have 
reason carefully to consider their personal duty to their 
Christian brethren in Turkey. 

Owing to the heavy debt upon the American Board, at the 
last annual meeting held in Brooklyn it was voted that 

The Prudential Committee in making the appropriations 
and expending the resources committed to our hands are not 
to be held responsible for disastrous results which may ensue 
from the insufficiency of those expenditures ; and that they be 
instructed so far as practicable to restrict those operations 
within the measure of the means furnished them. For all 
limitations or suffering thus occasioned the churches must 
answer. 

Acting under these instructions the Prudential Committee 
reduced the salaries of the missionaries in all fields of the 
Boards, except in Asiatic Turkey, by ten per cent, and the 
amount given for the general work — for churches, schools and 
general evangelization — about forty per cent. ; this was neces- 
sary to avoid increasing the debt. However severe this reduc- 
tion may be in other mission fields we desire to call attention 
to the fact that it will be almost fatal to the work in Turkey. 
Some of the reasons, as given us by Secretary Barton, are; 



The Shame of Christendom. 307 

1. A large number of churches, parsonages and schools 
have been destroyed during the past three months in Turkey. 
If these are not rebuilt, the people cannot hold services or 
continue their schools. To fail to rebuild is to openly acknow- 
ledge defeat. 

2. The people have been impoverished by fire, robbery and 
slaughter, and a large number of the most wealthy Protestant 
families have been completely wiped out. Churches that have 
been independent are now in immediate need of assistance in 
order to support any kind of Christian work. 

3. The Christians of Turkey feel, and that, too, with good 
reason, that the Christian nations of the world have abandoned 
them to their fate. They have looked in vain for political 
help, and are almost in despair. If now the churches in 
America shall seem to be unmindful of their need of spiritual 
help and relief, and withdraw in these darkest hours the help 
heretofore given when less necessary, it cannot fail to be to 
them the last bitter potion in their terribly bitter cup of 
despair. 

4. If in any measure we curtail our help for Turkey at this 
juncture, when difficulties multiply and dangers increase, it 
cannot fail to give the impression to the people of Turkey and 
the world that we of America are willing to do mission work 
so long as we can do it easily and safely. Such action cannot 
fail to be interpreted that our zeal for Christ and for men is 
not strong enough to endure persecution. A terrible thought 
must this be to those who, during the last few weeks, have 
faced a hundred deaths for Him! 

5. Missions have, during the last sixty years, brought 
before the world the Armenian people. The marked prog- 
ress this nation has made has drawn down upon it the jealousy 
and wrath of the Moslem rulers. The depths into which it is 
crushed to-day are made more dark and deep and terrible by 
the height to which it had climbed. Can we abandon this race 
now, or afford even to appear to do so, amid the perils which 
have come to it through the enlightenment we ourselves have 
carried to it ? 

6. The movement in Turkey is against an enlightened 
Christianity. The first terrible blow has been struck. If, 



308 The Shame of Christendom. 

now, the Moslems see the Christian forces weakening and a 
quiet retreat begun, they will at once proclaim the victory 
theirs. The forces of Islam will be collected and unified, and 
a crusade against the Cross, and all the Cross represents, will 
be inevitable. 

But we need not continue. It is true, hundreds of Chris- 
tians — yes, thousands, have been martyred ; but that is no 
reason why we should abandon the thousands who yet remain 
true to their faith. The missionaries, in their common suffer- 
ing and danger, have won the confidence and affection of 
thousands more who never knew them before. 

Shall we bind the hands of the brave missionaries, crush 
the hope of starving, bleeding Christians and openly confess 
victory for the Moslem persecutors ? 



CHAPTER XVII. 

An Appeal for Armenia. 

The following appeal, addressed to the people of England 
and to the British Government, by Mr. E. J. Dillon, should 
also come home to every heart and conscience in America. 
Mr. Dillon says : 

The tim^. has come for every reasoning inhabitant of these 
islands deliberately to accept or repudiate his share of the 
joint indirect responsibility of the British nation for a series 
of the hugest and foulest crimes that have ever stained the 
pages of human history. The Armenjan people in Anatolia 
are being exterminated, root and branch, by Turks and Kurds 
— systematically and painfully exterminated by such abomin- 
able methods and with such fiendish accompaniments as may 
well cause the most sluggish blood to boil and seethe with 
shame and indignation. 

For the Armenians are not lawless barbarians or brigands ; 
nor are the Turks and Kurds the accredited torch-bearers of 
civilization. But even if the r6les of the actors in this hideous 
drama were thus distributed, an excuse might at most be 
found for severity, but no pretext could be discovered for the 
slow torture and gradual vivisection employed by fanatic 
Mohammedans to end the lives of their Christian neighbors. 

If, for instance, it be expedient that Armenians should be 
exterminated, why chop them up piecemeal, and, in the mter- 
vals of this protracted process, banter the agonized victims 
who are wildly calling upon God and man to put them out of 
pain > Why must an honest, hard-working man be torn from 
^ 309 



310 An Appeal for Armenia. 

his bed or his fireside, forced to witness the violation of his 
daughter by a band of all-pitiless demons, unable to rescue or 
help her, and then, his own turn come, have his hand cut off 
and stuffed into his mouth, while a short sermon is being 
preached to him on the textj *' If your God be God, why does 
He not succor you ?" at the peroration of which the other 
hand is hacked off, and, amid boisterous shouts of jubilation, 
his ears are torn from his head and his feet severed with a 
hatchet, while the piercing screams, the piteous prayers, the 
hideous contortions of the agonizing victim intoxicate with 
physico-spiritual ecstasies the souls of the frantic fanatics 
around? 

Jokes and Blasphemies. 

And why, when the last and merciful stroke of death is 
being dealt, must obscene jokes and unutterable blasphemies 
sear the victim's soul and prolong his hell to the uttermost 
limits of time, to the very threshold of eternity ? Surely, 
roasting alive, flaying, disembowelling, impaling, and all that 
elaborate and ingenious aggravation of savage pain on which 
the souls of these human fiends seem to feast and flourish, 
have nothing that can excuse them in the eyes of Christians, 
however deeply absorbed in politics. 

But it is the Turks and Kurds who, at their best, are stag- 
nant, sluggish, and utterly averse to progress ; and at their 
worst are — the beings who conceive, perpetrate, and glory in 
the horrors just enumerated and in others that must be name- 
less. The Armenians, on the contrary, constitute the sole 
civilizing — nay, with all their many faults, the sole humanizing 
— element in Anatolia ; peaceful to the degree of self-sacrifice, 
law-abiding to their own undoing, and industrious and hope- 
ful under conditions which would appall the majority of man- 
kind. 

At their best, they are the stuff of which heroes and 



An Appeal for Armenia, 311 

martyrs are moulded. Christians, believing, as we believe, 
that God revealed Himself to the world in Jesus Christ, they 
have held fast to the teachings of our common Master in 
spite of disgrace and misery, in the face of fire and sword, in 
the agonies of torture and death. From the middle of the 
fifth century, when the hero Vartan and his dauntless com- 
panions died defending their faith against the Persian Maz- 
deans,* scarcely a year has elapsed in which Armenian men 
and women have not unhesitatingly and unostentatiously laid 
down their lives for their religious belief. 

Untold Agonies. 

The murdered of Sassoun, of Van, of Erzeroum, were also 
Christian martyrs ; and any or all of those whose eyes were 
lately gouged out, whose limbs were wrenched asunder, and 
whose quivering flesh was torn from their bodies, might have 
obtained life and comparative prosperity hy merely pronounc- 
ing the formula of Islam and abjuring Christ. But, instead 
of this, they commended their souls to their Creator, deliv- 
ered up their bodies to the tormentors, endured indescribable 
agonies, and died, like Christian martyrs, defying Heaven 
itself, so to say, by their boundless trust in God. 

Identity of ideals, aspirations, and religious faith give this 
unfortunate but heroic people strong claims on the sympathy 
of the English people, whose ancestors, whatever their relig- 
ious creed, never hesitated to die for it, and when the breath 
of God swept over them, breasted the hurricane of persecu- 
tion. 

* Yezdiged II., King of Persia, insisted on the apostasy of the Arme- 
nian people, whom he commanded to embrace the garbled doctrines of 
Zoroaster. Vartan, the chieftain of the race, gathered 287 members of 
the royal family around him, and with a following of 749 others, man- 
fully died on the field of battle after a bloody combat with the Persian 
troops, on June 2, 450. 



312 An Appeal for Armenia. 

But what special claims to our sympathy are needed by 
men and women whom we see treated by their masters as the 
damned were said to be dealt with by the devils in the deepest 
of hell's abysses? Our written laws condemn cruelty to a 
horse, a dog, a cat; our innate sense of justice moves us to 
punish the man who should wantonly torture a rat, say, by 
roasting it alive. 

And shall it be asserted that our instincts of justice, 
humanity, mercy need to be reinforced by extrinsic considera- 
tions before we consent to stretch out a helping hand, not to 
a brute or to a single individual, but to tens of thousands of 
honest, industrious Christian men, pure, virtuous women, and 
innocent little children to save them from protracted tortures, 
compared with some of which roasting alive is a swift and 
merciful death ? 

Suffering not Relieved. 

Yet it is a melancholy fact that we have not alleviated the 
sufferings of these woe -stricken people by a single pang, and 
that the succor which no one of us, individually, would 
dream of withholding from a friend, a neighbor, nay, a bitter 
enemy were he in such straits, we all, as a nation, deny to our 
Christian brethren who are being bludgeoned, sawn in twain, 
burned or thrust fainting into a gory grave. 

Why is it that our compassion for these, our fellow-men, 
has not yet assumed the form of effective help ? For reasons 
of " higher politics ; " because, forsooth, the Turks and Kurds, 
in whose soulless bodies the Gadarene legion of unclean 
spirits would seem to have taken up their abode, are indis- 
pensable to Christian civilization — for the time being; and 
because the millions of soldiers, the deadly rifles and the 
destructive warships which are accounted the most costly 
possessions of contemporary Europe cannot be spared in such 



An Appeal fur Armenia. 313 

a cause — they are wanted by the Christian nations to mow 
each other down with. 

In a word, the civiHzation built up on Christ's Gospel can- 
not stand, or at least cannot thrive, without the support of 
Kurdish cruelty and Turkish thuggery ! It may be asked, on 
what grounds the people of Great Britain ought to show 
themselves more ready to pity, and more eager to succor, 
the Armenians than our Continental neighbors. The question 
differs little in spirit from that which the priest and the Levitc 
asked themselves as they passed the helpless man mentioned 
by Jesus, who, on his way to Jericho, had fallen among 
thieves, and was left lying half-dead. 

Fixing the Responsibility. 

But in the present case an answer is forthcoming, an answer 
which is calculated to satisfy the most caHous among us, and 
transform us into Good Samaritans. Briefly, it is this : 
because we are primarily responsible for their sufferings ; 
because they are the innocent victims of our selfish pursuit of 
political interests- -which have none the less eluded our grasp, 
and left us empty-handed, and face to face with the calamitous 
results of our egotism. 

In the first place, we refused to recognize the Treaty of San 
Stefano, and to allow the Christian subjects of the Sultan to 
owe the boon of humane treatment to Russia's policy or gen- 
erosity. We insisted on delivering them back, bound hand 
and foot, to their rabid enemies, undertaking, however, to 
undo their fetters later on. But the " later on " never came. 
Oppression, persecution, "incredible manifestations of savagery, 
characterized the dealings of the Turks with the Christians, 
but we closed our eyes and shut our ears until the Porte, 
encouraged by our connivance, organized the wholesale 
massacres of Sassoun. 



314 An Appeal for Armenia. 

Then, for the first time, we interfered, striking out a line of 
action which we knew must prove disastrous if not completely- 
successful, and without first assuring ourselves that we could 
and would work it out to a favorable issue. And the result 
was what was feared from the first. We acted as a surgeon 
might who, about to perform a dangerous operation, should 
lay the patient on the table, probe the wound, cut the flesh, 
and just when the last and decisive manipulation was needed 
to save the life of the sufferer, should turn away, and leave 
him to bleed to death. 

Punished only in Theory. 

These are reasons why we, and we more than any other 
people, are responsible for the misery of the Armenians. 

The condition of Armenian Christians when we first inter- 
fered (1878) was, from a humane point of view, deplorable. 
Laws existed only on paper. Mohammedan crimes were 
punishable only in theory. Life and property depended for 
security solely on the neighborly feeling which custom and 
community of interests had gradually fostered between Mos- 
lems and Christians, and which greed or fanaticism might at 
any moment suddenly uproot. Russia was willing to substi- 
tute law and order for crime and chaos, and to guarantee to 
Christians the treatment due to human beings. 

But we then denied her right to do this, as she refuses to 
admit our claim to undertake it single-handed. Our inter- 
ference was inspired by purely political calculations, unre- 
deemed by considerations of humanity. About this there is 
now no doubt, nor was there then any disguise. Our poli- 
tical interests needed, or our Government fancied they 
needed, the propping up of the Turkish Empire, when the 
Turkish Empire had already become the embodiment of the 
powers of darkness. And to these fancied interests were sac- 



An Appeal for Armenia, 315 

rificed the property, the honor, the Hves of the Armenian 
people. 

But, not to appear less generous or humane than our north- 
ern rival, we solemnly and emphatically promised to compel 
the Porte to deal fairly with its Christian subjects, and we 
undertook to see that such reforms were introduced as would 
enable Armenians to work without fear of legalized robbery 
or lawless brigandage, to marry without the certitude of hav- 
ing their wives dishonored and their daughters violated, and 
to worship God after the manner of their fathers without 
being liable to imprisonment, torture, and death. 

We said in effect : " Though our political interests may 
clash with those of Russia, we will see to it that they are not 
subversive of the elementary principles of human justice and 
the immutable law of God. Therefore we declare that we are 
actuated by the will and possessed of the power to induce or 
compel the Porte to grant such political and administrative 
reforms as are essential to the well-being of its Armenian 
subjects." 

This promise, and the events that rendered it necessary, 
constitute the main claim of the Armenian people in Turkey 
to English sympathy and assistance. 

A Solemn Promise not Kept. 

Yet we never took any efficacious step to fulfill that solemn 
promise. We never said or did ahything the effect of which 
was to assuage the sufferings which owed their continued 
existence to our egotism. Nay, more ; we allowed things to 
drift from bad to worse, mismanagement to develop into 
malignity, oppression to merge in extermination, and for the 
space of seventeen years we deliberately shut our eyes and 
closed our ears to the ghastly sights and lugubrious sounds 
that accompanied the horrors of Turkish misrule in Armenia. 



316 



An Appeal for Armenia, 



Our consuls forwarded exhaustive reports, the Press pub- 
lished heart-rending details, Armenian ecclesiastics presented 
piteous appeals — all of them describing deeds more gruesome 




A HORRIBLE SCENE 

and nefarious than those which in patriarchal days brought 
down fire from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah. But we 
"pigeon-holed" the consular reports, pooh-poohed the parti- 
culars published by the Press, or characterized them as a 
tissue of gross exaggerations, and ignored the petition of the 
priests. 



An Appeal for Armenia. 317 

Let it not be supposed for a moment that this breach 
of faith was a mere '' political peccadillo." It is often impli- 
citly assumed, and sometimes flippantly affirmed, that politics 
postulate a code of morals different from that of private life. 
Even if this strange theory were true, it would furnish no 
justification, no excuse, no pretext for this indefensible con- 
duct of a great nation towards a poor and down-trodden peo- 
ple. For the guiles and wiles, the subterfuges and stratagems 
which commonly characterize the diplomatic dealing of inde- 
pendent peoples and States are usually confined, even in their 
furthest consequences, by the narrow limits of the political 
sphere. They leave the real weal and woe of individuals 
practically untouched. 

Fiends in Human Shape. ' 

National prestige, commercial advantages, or, at most, a 
strip of territory, is all that is at stake. But our unfortunate 
action and inaction made themselves immediately and fatally 
felt in the very homes and at the firesides of hundreds of 
thousands of Christian men and women, driving them into 
exile, shutting them up in noisome prisons, and subjecting 
them to every conceivable species of indignity, outrage, and 
death. We pressed a knob, as it were, in London, and thereby 
opened hell's portals in Asia Minor, letting loose legions of 
fiends in human shape, who set about torturing and extermi- 
nating the Christians there. 

And, lest it should be urged that our Government was 
ignorant of the wide-reaching effects of its ill-advised action, 
it is on record that for seventeen years it continued to watch 
the harrowing results of that action without once interfering 
to stop it, although at any moment during that long period of 
persecution it could have redeemed its promise, and rescued 
the Christians from their unbearable lot. 



318 An Appeal for Armenia, 

If a detailed description were possible of the horrors which 
our exclusive attention to our own mistaken interests let loose 
upon Turkish Armenians, there is not a man within the king- 
dom of Great Britain whose heart-strings would not be touched 
and thrilled by the gruesome stories of which it would be 

composed. 

Robbed of Liberty and Life. 

During all those seventeen years written law, traditional 
custom, the fundamental maxims of human and divine justice 
were suspended in favor of a Mohammedan saturnalia. The 
Christians by whose toil and thrift the empire was held 
together, were despoiled, beggared, chained, beaten and 
banished or butchered. First, their movable wealth was 
seized, then their landed property was confiscated, next the 
absolute necessaries of life were wrested from them, and 
finally honor, liberty, and life were taken with as little ado as 
if these Christian men and women were wasps or mosquitoes. 

Thousands of Armenians were thrown into prison by 
governors like Tahsin Pasha and Bahri Pasha, and tortured 
and terrorized till they delivered up the savings of a lifetime, 
and the support of their helpless families, to ruffianly parasites. 
Whole villages were attacked in broad daylight by the 
Imperial Kurdish cavalry without pretext or warning, the male 
inhabitants turned adrift or killed, and their wives and daugh- 
ers transformed into instruments to glut the foul lusts of these 
bestial murderers. In a few years the provinces were deci- 
mated, Aloghkerd, for instance, being almost entirely 
"purged" of Armenians. 

Over 20,000 woe-stricken wretches, once healthy and well- 
to-do, fled to Russia or to Persia in rags and misery, deformed, 
diseased, or dying; on the way they were seized over and 
over again by the soldiers of the Sultan, who deprived them 
of the little money they possessed, nay, of the clothes they 



An Appeal for Armenia. 319 

were wearing, outraged the married women in presence of 
their sons and daughters, deflowered the tender girls before 
the eyes of their mothers and brothers, and then drove them 
over the frontier to hunger and die. Those who remained for 
a time behind were no better off. Kurdish brigands lifted the 
last cows and goats of the peasants, carried away their carpets 
and their valuables, raped their daughters, and dishonored 
their wives. 

Cruelty and Torture. 

Turkish tax-gatherers followed these, gleaning what the 
brigands had left, and, lest anything should escape their 
avarice, bound the men, flogged them till their bodies were a 
bloody, mangled mass, cicatrized the wounds with red hot 
ramrods, plucked out their beards hair by hair, tore the flesh 
from their limbs with pincers, and often even then, dissatisfied 
with the financial results of their exertions, hung the men 
whom they had thus beggared and maltreated from the rafters 
of the room and kept them there to witness, with burning 
shame, impotent rage, and incipient madness, the dishonoring 
of their wives and the deflowering of their daughters, some of 
whom died miserably during the hellish outrage. 

Stories of this kind in connection with Turkish misrule in 
Armenia have grown familiar to English ears of late, and it is 
to be feared that people are now so much accustomed to them 
that they have lost the power of conveying corresponding 
definite impressions to the mind. The more is the pity. 

It is only meet that we should make some effort to realize 
the sufferings which we have brought down upon inoffensive 
men and women, and to understand somewhat of the shame, 
the terror, the despair that must take possession of the souls 
of Christians whose lives are a martyrdom of such unchroni- 
cled agonies, during which no ray of the life-giving light that 
plays about the throne of God ever pierces the mist of blood 



320 An Appeal for Armenia, 

and tears that rises between the blue of heaven and the ever- 
lasting grey of the charnel-house called Armenia. 

It should be remembered that these statements are neither 
rumors nor exaggerations concerning which we are justified 
in suspending our judgment. History has set its seal upon 
them ; diplomacy has slowly verified and reluctantly recog- 
nized them as established facts, and religion and humanity are 
now called upon to place their emphatic protest against them 

on record. 

They Qlory in their Shame 

The Turks, in their confidential moods, have admitted these 
and worse acts of savagery ; the Kurds glory in them at all 
times ; trustworthy Europeans have witnessed and described 
them, and Armenians groaned over them in blank despair. 
Officers and nobles in the Sultan's own cavalry regiments, 
like Mostigo the Kurd, bruit abroad, with unpardonable pride, 
the story of the long series of rapes and murders which 
marked their official careers, and laugh to scorn the notion of 
being punished for robbing and killing the Armenians, whom 
the Sublime Porte desires them to exterminate. Nay, it was 
the Armenians themselves who were punished if they com- 
plained when their own relatives or friends were murdered. 
And they were punished, either on the charge of having 
cruelly done their own parents, sisters, children to death, or 
else on suspicion of having killed the murderers, who, how- 
ever, were always found afterwards living and thriving in the 
Sultan' s employ , and were never disturbed there. Three hundred 
and six of the principal inhabitants of the district of Khnouss, 
in a piteous appeal to the people of England, wrote : 

"Year by year, month by month, day by day, innocent 
men, women and children have been shot down, stabbed or 
clubbed to death, in their houses and their fields, tortured in 
strange fiendish ways in fetid prison cells, or left to rot in 



An Appeal Jor Armejiia. 321 

exile under the scorching sun of Arabia. During that long 
and horrible tragedy no voice was raised for mercy, no hand 
extended to help us. . . . Is European sympathy destined to 
take the form of a cross on our graves ? " 

Now the answer has been given. These ill-starred men 
might now know that European sympathy has taken a 
different form — that of a marine guard before the Sultan's 
palace to shield him and his from harm from without while 
they proceed with their orgies of blood and lust within. 
These simple men of Khnouss might now know and wonder 
at this — if they were still among the living ; but most of them 
have been butchered since then, like the relatives and friends 
whose lot they lamented and yet envied. 

Crowded Dungeons. 

In accordance with the plan of extermination, which has 
been carried out with such signal success during these long 
years of Turkish vigor and English sluggishness, all those 
Armenians who possessed money or money's worth were for 
a time allowed to purchase immunity from prison, and from 
all that prison life in Asia Minor implies. But as soon as 
terror and summary confiscation took the place of slow and 
elaborate extortion, the gloomy dungeons of Erzeroum, 
Erzinghan, Marsovan, Hassankaleh, and Van were filled, till 
there was no place to sit down, and scarcely sufficient standing 
room. 

And this means more than English people can realize, or 
any person believe who has not actually witnessed it. It 
would have been a torture for Turkish troopers and Kurdish 
brigands, but it was worse than death to the educated school- 
masters, missionaries, priests and physicians, who were im- 
mured in these noisome hotbeds of infection, and forced to 
sleep night after night standing on their feet, leaning against 

ZiJL 



322 An Appeal for Armenia, 

the foul, reeking corner of the wall which all the prisoners 
were compelled to occupy alike. The very worst class of 
Tartar and Kurdish criminals were turned in here to make 
these hell-chambers more unbearable to the Christians. 

And the experiment was everywhere successful. Human 
hatred and diabolical spite, combined with the most disgust- 
ing sights and sounds and stenches, with their gnawing hun- 
ger and their putrid food, their parching thirst and the slimy 
water, fit only for sewers, rendered their agony maddening. 
Yet these were not criminals nor alleged criminals, but 
upright Christian men, who were never even accused of an 
infraction of the law. No man who has not seen these pris- 
ons with his own eyes, and heard these prisoners with his 
own ears, can be expected to conceive, much less realize, the 
sufferings inflicted and endured. 

Scene of Horrors. 

The loathsome diseases, whose terrible ravages were freely 
displayed ; the still miore loathsome vices, which were contin- 
ually and openly practiced ; the horrible blasphemies, revolt- 
ing obscenities and ribald jests which alternated with cries of 
pain, songs of vice, and prayers to the unseen God, made 
these prisons, in some respects, nearly as bad as the Black 
Hole of Calcutta, and in others infinitely worse. In one cor- 
ner of this foul fever -nest a man might be heard moaning and 
groaning with the pain of a shattered arm or leg ; in another, 
a youth is convulsed with the death spasms of cholera or poi- 
son ; in the centre, a knot of Turks, whose dull eyes are fired 
with bestial lust, surround a Christian boy, who pleads for 
mercy with heart-harrowing voice while the human fiends 
actually outrage him to death. 

Into these prisons venerable old ministers of religion were 
dragged from their churches, teachers from their schools, 



An Appeal for Armenia. 323 

missionaries from their meeting-houses, merchants, physi- 
cians, and peasants from their fire-sides. Those among them 
who refused to denounce their friends, or consent to some 
atrocious crime, were subjected to horrible agonies. Many a 
one, for instance, was put into a sentry-box bristhng with 
sharp spikes, and forced to stand there motionless, without 
food or drink, for twenty-four and even thirty-six hours, was 
revived with stripes whenever he fell fainting to the prickly 
floor, and was carried out unconscious at the end. 

It was thus that hundreds of Armenian Christians, whose 
names and histories are on record, suffered for refusing to 
sign addresses to the Sultan accusing their neighbors and 
relatives of high treason. It was thus that Azo was treated 
by his judges, the Turkish officials, Talib Effendi, Captain 
Reshid, and Captain Hadji Fehim Agha, for declining to 
swear away the lives of the best men of his village. A whole 
night was spent in torturing him. He was first bastinadoed 
in a room close to which his female relatives and friends were 
shut up so that they could hear his cries. 

A Living Cross. 

Then he was stripped naked, and two poles, extending from 
his arm-pits to his feet, were placed on either side of his body 
and tied tightly. His arms were next stretched out horizon- 
tally and poles arranged to support his hands. This living 
cross was then bound to a pillar, and the flogging began. 
The whips left livid traces behind. The wretched man was 
unable to make the slightest movement to ease his pain. 
His features alone, hideously distorted, revealed the anguish 
he endured. The louder he cried, the more heavily fell the 
whip. 

Over and over again he entreated his tormentors to put 
him out of pain, saying : " If you want my death, kill me with 



324 An Appeal for Armenia. 

a bullet, but for God's sake don't torture me like this ! " His 
head alone being free he, at last, maddened by excruciating 
pain, endeavored to dash out his brains against the pillar, 
hoping in this way to end his agony. But this consumma- 
tion was hindered by the police. They questioned him 
again ; but in spite of his condition, Azo replied as before : " I 
cannot defile my soul with the blood of innocent people. I 
am a Christian." Enraged at this obstinacy, Talib Efifendi, 
the Turkish official, ordered the application of other and 
more effective tortures. 

Roars of Infernal Laughter. 

Pincers were fetched to pull out his teeth; but Azo, remain- 
ing firm, this method was not long persisted in. Then Talib 
commanded his servants to pluck out the prisoner's mous- 
tachios by the roots, one hair at a time. This order the 
gendarmes executed, with roars of infernal laughter. But 
this treatment proving equally ineffectual, Talib instructed his 
men to cauterize the unfortunate victim's body. A spit was 
heated in the fire. Azo's arms were freed from their supports, 
and two brawny policemen approached, one on each side, and 
seized him. Meanwhile another gendarme held to the middle 
of the wretched man's hands the glowing spit. While his 
flesh was thus burning, the victim shouted out in agony, *' For 
the love of God kill me at once ! " 

Then the executioners removing the red-hot spit from his 
hands, applied it to his breast, then to his back, his face, his 
feet, and other parts. After this, they forced open his mouth, 
and burned his tongue with red-hot pincers. During these 
inhuman operations, Azo fainted three several times, but on 
recovering consciousness maintained the same inflexibility of 
purpose. 

Meanwhile, in the adjoining apartment, a heartrending scene 



An Appeal for Ainnenia, 325 

was being enacted. The women and the children, terrified by 
the groans and cries of the tortured man, fainted. When they 
revived, they endeavored to rush out to call for help, but the 
gendarmes, stationed at the door, barred their passage, and 
brutally pushed them back.* 

Bribed or Poisoned. 

Nights were passed in such hellish orgies and days in 
inventing new tortures or refining upon the old, with an ingen- 
uity which reveals unimagined strata of malignity in the 
human heart. The results throw the most sickening horrors 
of the Middle Ages into the shade. Some of them cannot be 
described, nor even hinted at. The shock to people's sensibili- 
ties would be too terrible. And yet they were not merely 
described to, but endured by, men of education and refine- 
ment, whose sensibilities were as delicate as ours. 

And when the prisons in which these and analogous doings 
were carried on had no more room for new-comers, some of 
the least obnoxious of its actual inmates were released for a 
bribe, or, in case of poverty, were expeditiously poisoned off. 

In the homes of these wretched people the fiendish fanatics 
were equally active arid equally successful. Family life was 
poisoned at its very source. Rape and dishonor, with name- 
less accompaniments, menaced almost every girl and woman 
in the country. They could not stir out of their houses in 
the broad daylight to visit the bazaars, or to work in the 
fields, nor even lie down at night in their own homes without 
fearing the fall of that Damocles' sword ever suspended over 
their heads. 

* The above description is taken literally from a report of the British ' 
Vice-Consul of Erzeroum. Copies are in possession of the diplomatic 
representatives of the Powers at Constantinople. The scene occurred in 
the village of Semal before the massacres, during the normal condition 
of things. 



326 An Appeal for Armenia. 

Tender youth, childhood itself, was no guarantee. Child- 
ren were often married at the age of eleven, even at ten, in 
the vain hope of lessening this danger. But the protection of 
a husband proved unavailing ; it merely meant one murder 
more, and one " Christian dog " less. A bride would be mar- 
ried in church yesterday, and her body would be devoured by 
the beasts and birds of prey to-morrow — a band of ruffians, 
often officials, having within the intervening forty-eight hours 
seized her and outraged her to death. 

Others would be abducted, and, having for weeks been 
subjected to the loathsome lusts of lawless Kurds, would end 
by abjuring their God and embracing Islam; not from any 
vulgar motive of gain, but to escape the burning shame of 
returning home as pariahs and lepers to be shunned by those 
near and dear to them forever. Little girls of five and six 
were frequently forced to be present during these horrible 
scenes of lust, and, they, too, were often sacrificed before the 
eyes of their mothers, who would have gladly, madly accepted 
death, ay, and damnation, to save their tender offspring from 
the corroding poison. 

Fate of a Young Woman. 

One of the abducted young women who, having been out- 
raged by the son of the Deputy-Governor of Khnouss, 
Hussni Bey, returned, a pariah, and is now alone in the world, 
lately appealed to her English sisters for such aid as a heathen 
would give to a brute, and she besought it in the name of our 
common God. Lucine Mussegh — this is the name of that 
outraged young woman whose Protestant education gave her, 
as she thought, a special claim to act as the spokesw^oman of 
.Armenian mothers and daughters — Lucine Mussegh besought, 
last March, the women of England to obtain for the women 
of Armenia i\iQ privilege of living a pure and chaste life ! 



An Appeal for Armenia. 327 

This was the boon which she craved — but did not, could 
not, obtain. The interests of *' higher pohtics," the civihzing 
missions of the Christian Powers are, it seems, incompatible 
with it ! " For the love of the God whom we worship in 
common," wrote this outraged, but still hopeful, Armenian 
lady, " help us. Christian sisters! Help us before it is too 
late, and take the thanks of the mothers, the wives, the 
sisters, and the daughters of my people, and with them the 
gratitude of one for whom, in spite of her youth, death would 
come as a happy release." 

Neither the Christian sisters nor the Christian brethren in 
England have seen their way to comply with this strange 
request. But it may perhaps interest Lucine Mussegh to 
learn that the six Great Powers of Europe are quite unani- 
mous, and are manfully resolved, come what will, to shield his 
Majesty the Sultan from harm, to support his rule, and to 
guarantee his kingdom from disintegration. These are 
objects worthy of the attention of the Great Powers ; as for 
the privilege of leading pure and chaste lives — they cannot be 
importuned about such private matters. 

What astonishes one throughout this long, sickening story 
of shame and crime is the religious faith of the sufferers. It 
envelops them like a Nessus' shirt, aggravating their agonies 
by the fear it inspires that they must have offended in some 
inexplicable way the omnipotent God who created them. 
What is not at all wonderful, but only symptomatic, is the 
mood of one of the women, who, having prayed to God in 
heaven, discovered no signs of His guiding hand upon earth, 
and whose husband was killed in presence of her daughter, 
after which each of the two terrified females was outraged by 
the band of ruffians in turn. 

When gazing, a few days later, on the lifeless corpse of that 
beloved child whom she had vainly endeavored to save, that 



328 An Appeal for Ar77te7iia. 

wretched, heart-broken mother, wrung to frenzy by her soul- 
searing anguishj accounted to her neighbors for the horrors 
that were spread over her people and her country by the 
startling theory that God Himself had gone mad, and that 
maniacs and demons incarnate were stalking about the world ! 
Such, in broad outline, has been the normal condition of 
Armenia ever since the Treaty of Berlin, owing at first to the 
disastrous action and subsequently to the equally disastrous 
inaction of the British Government. The above sketch con- 
tains but a few isolated instances of the daily common-places 
of the life of Armenian Christians. When these have been 
multiplied by thousands and the colors duly heightened, a 
more or less adequate idea may be formed of the hideous 
reality. 

Ideas of Justice Perverted. 

Now, during all those seventeen years, we took no serious 
step to put an end to the brigandage, rapes, tortures, and 
murders which all Christendom agreed with us in regarding 
as the normal state of things. No one deemed it his duty to 
insist on the punishment of the professional butchers and 
demoralizers, who founded their claims to preferment upon 
the maintenance of this inhuman system^ and had their claims 
allowed, for the Sultan, whose intelligence and humanity it 
was the fashion to eulogize and admire, decorated and 
rewarded these faithful servants, making them participators in 
the joy of their lord. 

Indeed, the utter perversion of the ideas of justice and 
humanity which characterized the views of European Chris- 
tendom during the long period of oppression and demoraliza- 
tion has at last reached such a pitch that the Powers have 
agreed to give the Sultan a " reasonable " time to re-establish 
once more the normal state of tilings. 

The Turks, encouraged by the seventeen years' connivance 



An Appeal f 07' Armenia. 329 

of the only Power which possessed any formal right to inter- 
vene in favor of the Armenians, and confident that the British 
nation was a consenting party to the policy of sheer extermi- 
nation which was openly proclaimed again and again, organized 
a wholesale massacre of the Christians of Sassoun. 

** Systematic Turkeries." 

The particular reason for this sweeping measure lay in the 
circumstance that the Armenian population in that part of 
the country consisted of the hardiest, bravest and most reso- 
lute representatives of the race, and that their proportion to 
the Mohammedans there was more than twice greater than 
elsewhere. The systematic Turkeries, which had impover- 
ished and depopulated the other less favored districts, were 
consequently of little avail in Sassoun ; therefore, a purgative 
measure on a grandiose scale was carefully prepared, for a 
whole year before, by Imperial officials, whose services the 
Sultan has since nobly requited. 

The preparations were elaborate and open. The project 
was known to and canvassed by all. A long report was 
addressed by the Abbot of Moush, Kharakhanian, to the 
British representative at *Erzeroum, informing him of this 
inhuman plan, proving its real existence, and appealing to 
the people of England to save their Christian brethren.- 

But international comity forbade us to meddle with the 
** domestic affairs of a friendly Power," and the massacre took 
place as advertised. Momentary glimpses of the blood- 
curdling scenes, as described by Turkish, Kurdish and Arme- 
nian eye-witnesses, have since been vouchsafed us; not by 
the Government, which ^'pigeon-holed" the reports of its 
consuls, but by the Press. And in these dissolving views we 
behold long processions of misery-stricken men and women, 
bearing witness to the light invisible to them, as they move 



330 Alt Appeal for Armenia. 

onward to midnight martyrdom amid the howls of their frantic 
torturers. 

The rivulets were choked up with corpses ; the streams ran 
red with human blood ; the forest glades and rocky caves 
were peopled with the dead and the dying ; among the black 
ruins of once prosperous villages lay roasted infants by their 
mangled mothers' corpses ; pits were dug at night by the 
wretches destined to fill them, many of whom, flung in while 
but lightly wounded, awoke underneath a mountain of clammy 
corpses, and vainly wrestled with death and with the dead, 
who shut them out from light and life forever. 

He Did his Best. 

It was then that our present Ambassador at Constantinople 
took action, and displayed those remarkable gifts of energy 
and industry to which the Prime Minister lately alluded with 
pride. It was owing to his enlightened initiative and inde- 
fatigable perseverance that the unfortunate Armenians . 

But what, ask the Armenians, have we to feel grateful for? 
What act of clemency, what deed of humanity, do we owe to 
British intervention ? 

The British Ambassador, however, did his best. He prose- 
cuted inquiries, studied reports, made energetic representa- 
tions to the Sultan, and at last carried the appointment of a 
Commission of Investigation. An excellent result, apparently, 
and the beginning of much else. Yes, but on one condition — 
viz.: that the British Government, before beginning this 
arduous work, saw its way to bring it to a successful issue, 
and, having irritated the Turks and Kurds to fury against the 
Armenians by this foreign intervention, were resolved not to 
abandon the Christians to the mercies of the Mohammedans 
without foreign protection. 

Otherwise it was only too clear that our tardy action would 



An Appeal for Armenia. 331 

turn out to be a piece of inexcusable inhumanity. This view 
was expressed and maintained at the time by some of the 
leading organs of our Press. But the Government went its 
way unheeding. Yet, while the Commission of Inquiry was 
still sitting at Moush, the deeds of atrocious cruelty which 
it was assembled to investigate were outdone under the eyes 
of the delegates. Threats were openly uttered that, on their 
withdrawal, massacres would be organized all over the coun- 
try — massacres, it was said, in comparison with which the 
Sassoun butchery would compare but as dust in the balance. 
And elaborate preparations were made — aye, openly made, in 
the presence of consuls and delegates — for the perpetration 
of these v/holesale murders; and, in spite of the warnings and 
appeals published in England, nothing was done to prevent 
them. 

Wholesale Destruction of 'Life. 

In due time they began. Over 60,000 Armenians have 
been butchered, and the massacres are not quite ended yet. 
In Trebizond, Erzeroum, Erzinghan, Hassankaleh, and num- 
berless other places the Christians were crushed like grapes 
during the vintage. The frantic mob, seething and surging 
in the streets of the cities; swept down upon the defenceless 
Armenians, plundered their shops, gutted their houses, then 
joked and jested with the terrified victims, as cats play with 
mice. 

As rapid whirling motion produces apparent rest, so the 
wild frenzy of those fierce fanatical crowds resulted in a con- 
dition of seeming calmness, composure and gentleness which, 
taken in connection with the unutterable brutality of their 
acts, was of a nature to freeze men's blood with horror. In 
many cases they almost co ressed their victims, and actually 
encouraged them to hope, while preparing the instruments of 
slaughter. 



332 An Appeal fo7^ A7^7nenia, 

The French mob during the Terror were men — nay, angels 
of mercy — compared with these Turks. Those were not 
insensible to compassion; in these every instinct of humanity 
seemed atrophied or dead. In Trebizond, on the first day of 
the massacre, an Armenian was coming out of a baker's shop, 
where he had been purchasing bread for his sick wife and 
family, when he was surprised by the raging crowd. Fasci- 
nated with terror, he stood still, was seized, and dashed to the 
ground. 

Pie pleaded piteously for mercy and pardon, and they 
quietly promised it ; and so grim and dry was the humor of 
this crowd that the trembling wretch took their promise 
seriously and offered them his heartfelt thanks. In truth 
they were only joking. When they were ready to be serious 
they tied the man's feet together, and taunted him, but at first 
with the assumed gentleness that might well be mistaken for 
the h'^rbinger of mercy. 

Bloodcurdling Barbarities. 

Then they cut off one of his hands, slapped his face with 
the bloody wrist, and placed it between his quivering lips. 
Soon afterwards they chopped off the other hand, and inquired 
whether he would like pen and paper to write to his wife. 
Others requested him to make the sign of the cross with his 
stumps, or with his feet, while he still possessed them, while 
others desired him to shout louder that his God might hear 
his cries for help. One of the most active members of the 
crowd then stepped forward and tore the man's ears from his 
head, after which he put them between his lips, and then flung 
them in his face. 

" That Efifendi's mouth deserves to be punished for refu.sing 
such a choice morsel," exclaimed a voice in the crowd, where- 
upon somebody stepped forward, knocked out some of his 



Alt Appeal for Armenia, 333 

teeth, and proceeded to cut out his tongue. " He will never 
blaspheme again," a pious Moslem jocosely remarked. There- 
upon a dagger was placed under one of his eyes, which was 
scooped clean out of its socket. 

The hideous contortions of the man's discolored face, the 
quick convulsions of his quivering body, and the sight of the 
ebbing blood turning the dry dust to gory mud, literally in- 
toxicated these furious fanatics, who, having gouged out his 
other eye and chopped off his feet, hit upon some other excru- 
ciating tortures before cutting his throat and sending his soul 
" to damnation," as they expressed it. These other 'ngenious 
pain-sharpening devices, however, were such as do not lend 
themselves to description. 

In Erzeroum, where a large tract of country, from the lofty 
mountains of Devi Boyen to the Black Sea shore, has just 
been laid waste and completely purged of Armenians, similar 
scenes were enacted. The vilayet of Van, the town of Has- 
sankaleh, and numerous other places have been deluged with 
blood, and polluted with unbridled lust. A man in Erzeroum, 
hearing the tumult, and fearing for his children, who were 
playing in the street, went out to seek and save them. He 
was borne down upon by the mob. 

He pleaded for his life, protesting that he had always lived 
in peace with his Moslem neighbors, and sincerely loved 
them. The statement may have represented a fact, or it may 
have been but a plea for pity. The ringleader, however, told 
him that that was the proper spirit, and would be condignly 
rewarded. The man was then stripped, and a chunk of his 
flesh cut out of his body, and jestingly offered for sale : 
" Good fresh meat and dirt cheap," exclaimed some of the 
crowd. "Who'll buy fine dog's meat?" echoed the amused 
bystanders. 

The writhing wretch uttered piercing screams as some of 



334 An Appeal for Armenia. 

the mob, who had just come from rifling the shops, opened 

a bottle, and poured vinegar or some acid into the gaping 

wound. He called on God and man to end his agonies. But 

they had only begun. Soon afterwards, two little boys came 

up, the elder crying, '' Hairik, Haii'ik,^ save me ! See what 

they've done to me ! " and pointed to his head, from which the 

blood was streaming over his handsome face, and down his 

neck. The 5/ounger brother — a child of about three — was 

playing with a wooden toy. The agonized man was silent 

for a second and then, glancing at these, his children, made a 

frantic but vain effort to snatch a dagger from a Turk by his 

side. 

Slash of a Sabre. 

This was the signal for the renewal of his torments. The 
bleeding boy was finally dashed with violence against the 
dying father, who began to lose strength and consciousness 
and the two were then pounded to death where they lay. The 
younger child sat near, dabbling his wooden toy in the blood 
of his father and brother, and looking up, now through smiles 
at the prettily-dressed Kurds, and now through tears at the 
dust-begrimed thing that had lately been his father. A slash 
of a sabre wound up his short experience of God's world, and 
the crowd turned its attention to others. 

These are but isolated scenes revealed for a brief second by 
the light, as it were, of a momentary lightning flash. The 
worst cannot be described. And, if it could be, no descrip- 
tion, however vivid, would convey a true notion of the dread 
reality. At most of these manifestations of bestial passion 
and dehrium the Sultan's troops, in uniform, stood by as 
delighted spectators when they did not actually take an active 
part as zealous executioners. 

And these are the Turks, whom unanimous Europe has 

■^Father, father. 



Ail Appeal for Armenia. 335 

judged worthy of continuing to govern and guide the Chris- 
tians of Asia Minor. True, the Powers have courteously 
signified their desire, and the Sultan has graciously pledged 
his **word of honor" that these massacres shall cease. His 
Majesty, in fact, undertakes, if a reasonable time be given him, 
to re-establish the normal sX.dX^ of things in Turkish Armenia; 
and we know that that normal condition implies the denial to 
Christians of the fundamental rights of human beings, the 
refusal of elementary justice, the prevalence of universal vio- 
lence and brutality, the abolition of womanly purity, the dis- 
integration of the family, the rape of tender children — in a 
word, a system of " government " for which the history of the 
world affords no parallel. 

Yet unanimous Europe, we are told, entertains no doubt 
that the true interests of Christendom demand that Turkish 
rule, as thus understood, should be maintained. And, with 
the genuine interests of Christianity at heart, the Great 
Powers are agreed to maintain it, in God's name. 

Is Forbearance a Virtue? 

If the refusal of the Powers to compel the Mohammedans 
of Turkey to respect the manhood, the motherhood, and 
maidenhood of their Christian fellow-subjects could be, and 
had been, based upon their religious reluctance to employ 
force even against superlative evil, one might question the 
wisdom of such forbearance, but it would be impossible to 
withhold respect from the principle underlying it. 

But such is not the plea. Those same Governments who 
persistently proclaim Christianity on the one hand and un- 
blushingly support the fiendish torturers of Christians in 
Turkey on the other, are eager to blow each other's Christian 
subjects in thousands off the face of the earth — aye, and to 
invoke God's blessing on the work over and above. 



336 . All Appeal for Armenia. 

But indefensible as the conduct of Continental nations may 
appear to us, it is only fair to say that none of them was 
pledged specially and solemnly to see justice done to the 
Armenians ; none of them broke any solemn promise by con- 
niving for seventeen years at every species of human villainy 
in Asia Minor, nor could any of them reproach themselves 
with having roused the sleeping devils, lashed them to 
fury against the Armenians, and then left the latter to be 
trampled upon, burned, disembowelled, and pitchforked into 
eternity. 

Silence Means Approval. 

This unenviable role was reserved for Great Britain. Is 
it to be further persisted in ? And if it is, are we, as 
Christians — nay, as men — to give the approval of silence to 
a line of conduct that would disgrace a tribe of heathens ? Is 
there any political advantage so important and so seductive 
that the hope of ultimately securing it should harden our 
hearts to utter insensibility to the laws of God, the prompt- 
ings of conscience, the inborn instincts of healthy human 
nature ? 

To some, even among us, it may perhaps seem possible to 
imitate the Christian States of Continental Europe, and keep 
the standard of true morality hidden away, to be applied only 
to bygone times and buried generations. But surely the bulk 
of normal Englishmen are still capable of assuming a definite 
attitude towards contemporary crimes, even though they have 
a political aspect, without staggering and reeling from the 
centre of Christianity to the distant and dangerous circum- 
ference. 

It cannot be too clearly stated, nor too widely published, 
that what is asked for is not the establishment of an Armenian 
kingdom or principality, not a " buffer State," not even 
Christian autonomy in any sense that might render it offen- 



All Appeal for Armenia. 337 

sive or dangerous to any of the Powers of Europe ; but only 
that by some efficacious means the human beings who profess 
the Christian religion in Anatolia, and who professed and 
practiced it there for centuries before the Turks or Kurds 
were heard of, shall be enabled to live and die as human 
beings, and that the unparalleled crimes of which, for the 
past seventeen years, they have been the silent victims, shall 
speedily and once for all be put a stop to. 

What Hope for Armenians? 

What serious hope is there that the lot of the Armenians 
will be bettered in the future ? The question of the promised 
reforms has alre'ady ceased to be actual. The Grand Vizier, 
explaining lately his reasons for not publishing the Sultan's 
recent undertaking to better the condition of the Christians, 
alleged, and very truly alleged, that the present Commander 
of the Faithful had brought no new factor into the question 
that needed to be published or made known. '' His Imperial 
Majesty," he said, '' made exactly the same kind of promise, 
respecting the same kind of reforms, as his illustrious prede- 
cessor seventeen years ago." 

Exactly ; and it will have precisely the same kind of results. 
The Christian Powers of Europe will see to this, and England's 
duty is admittedly to follow the Powers. Continental juris- 
consults have just given it as their conscientious opinion that 
any special reforms for the Armenians would necessarily in- 
volve a grave violation of the rights of man and of the law of 
God; and the jurisconsults ought to know. If this be so, 
the sensitive Sultan will naturally shrink from such lawless- 
ness and godlessness, and piously shelve the reforms. 

The reason given by these conscientious jurisconsults is 
intelligent enough ; because to favor any one class of the 

population — say the Christians — to the exclusion of the others, 

22 



338 Ail Appeal for Armenia. 

would be to foster race hatred, to rouse religious fanaticism, 
and to unchain the most furious passions that now lie dor- 
mant (?) in the Mohammedan breast. They would strongly 
recommend — would these learned spokesmen of the Christian 
Powers — the introduction of wide-reaching reforms for all 
Turkish subjects, were it not that insuperable objections ren- 
der even such a course absolutely impossible ; for, in the first 
place, the Powers have no right to interfere in favor of the 
Sultan's Mohammedan subjects, who, in this case^ would be 
mainly concerned ; in the second place, the Turks and Kurds 
themselves desire no such reforms, are, in fact, opposed to 
their introduction ; in the third place, they are utterly unripe 
for them ; and, in the fourth place, general reforms for all 
would necessarily prove as disastrous as special reforms for 
Armenian Christians, because the Armenians, as the most 
intelligent and only self-disciplined element of the population, 
would profit by the improvements to obtain political prepon- 
derance for themselves. 

How the Question would Settle Itself. 

Things had better, therefore, remain as they are, with the 
wholesale butcheries left out; that is to say, the normal con- 
dition of things must be re-established, which in a very few 
years will solve the Armenian Question by exterminating the 
Armenians. 

And England — Christian, moral England — apparently en- 
dorses this view, and seeks to persuade herself that by com- 
bining with the Powers to carry it out, she will have 
discharged all her duties, general and special, to the Chris- 
tians whom she solemnly promised to protect. Is it right 
and proper to acquiesce even by silence in such unqualifiable 
conduct as this ? 

Have the tender humanities of the teachings of Jesus no 



An Appeal for Armenia. 339 

longer any virtue that can pass into our souls and move us to 
condemn in emphatic terms the abominations which are even 
now turning the hves of our brothers and sisters in Armenia 
into tortures and their horrible deaths into the triumph of the 
most ferocious malignity that ever lurked in the abysses of 
the human heart ? 

If any Englishman in any walk of life, be he a Cabinet 
iVlinister or a Yorkshire boor, had been appealed to for help 
by the wretched woman whose little girl was outraged to 
death in her presence, after she had been dishonored in the 
presence of her daughter, and her husband had been killed 
before the eyes of both, would he have taken much time to 
reflect before according it ? 

Had he witnessed the living, quivering Christian's flesh 
being offered for sale as " fresh dogs' meat/' while the 
wretched man's children, whom he loved more than life, stood 
opposite him, the one with cloven skull asking for help, the 
other innocently plashing with his wooden toy in the red 
pool fed by his father's blood, would he have suspended his 
judgment until Continental Christians told him what opinion 
he should hold concerning these fiendish ferocities ? Yet 
these are the deeds which, in thousands and tens of thous- 
ands, are being perpetrated, w^iile we rejoice and thank God 
that at last all Europe is unanimous — unanimous in its 
resolve to shield the T^irks, the doers of these deeds, from 
harm. 

If there still be a spark of divinity in our souls, or a trace 
of healthy human sentiment in our hearts, we shall not hesi- 
tate to record our vehement protest against these hell-born 
crimes, that pollute one of the fairest portions of God's earth, 
and our strong condemnation of any and every line of policy 
that may tend directly or indirectly to perpetuate or condone 
them. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Massacre at Urfa. 

BY MISS CORINNA SHATTUCK, 

Missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreif^ii Missions. 

We had often heard that the Moslems were dissatisfied with 
the attempt in October, 1895, which resulted in the destruc- 
tion of only forty lives and about ^750,000 worth of goods, the 
plunder of 600 shops and 289 houses. After this the Chris- 
tians were all completely disarmed by the Government. Some 
eighty men had been imprisoned, and we feared another scene 
of terror. It came at last with great suddenness. 

On Saturday, December 28th, 1895, the firing of a few guns 
in the Moslem quarter south of us proved the signal. Imme- 
diately an immense multitude gathered on the hill back of 
our house. The guards in the street east of us went to meet 
i:he people, fired a few shots over their heads, and then 
allowed the mass of wild humanity, thirsty for blood, to pass 
into the city and begin their work. The horrid work con- 
tinued until dark. Three soldiers kept the mob from enter- 
ing our street, constantly proclaiming : " It is the house of a 
foreigner, and it is forbidden to touch her." We find by count 
that our " shadow " covered seventeen houses and two hun- 
dred and forty people. 

The mob came as far as to enter our girls' schoolrooms in 
the churchyard, and they broke open the third door below us 
on the street and plundered the house. I saw one man 
beaten and then thrown down on the roof just opposite to me 
on the other side of the street. The Syrians and Roman 
340 



The Massacre at Urfa, 341 

Catholics were also spared. All other Christians suffered 
complete loss of all home furnishings, and some houses were 
burned. The number of killed cannot be less than 3,500 and 
may reach 4,000. Of these it is estimated that 1,500 perished 
in the great Gregorian church. 

On Saturday that portion of the city was hardly touched, 
and great numbers of Armenians flocked to the church for 
safety that night. Sunday morning the work began again at 
daybreak, and when the people reached the church the 
soldiers broke open the doors. Then entering, they began a 
butchery which became a great holocaust. It was participated 
in by many classes of Moslems. For two days the air of the 
city was unendurable; then began the clearing up. During 
two days we saw constantly men lugging sacks filled with 
bones and ashes. The dragging off of 1,500 bodies for burial 
in trenches was more quickly completed, some being taken on 
animals. 

How they Escaped. 

The last work of all has been the clearing of the wells. 
From one very large well it is said that sixty bodies were 
taken. It is well authenticated that twenty bodies were taken 
from another well. About three hundred persons escaped 
from the church by way of the roof, which was reached by a 
narrow staircase on the inside. Shortly after noon on Sun- 
day some fifteen or more of the prominent citizens and Gov- 
ernment officials (not including the Mutessarif, or the military 
commander), preceded by a military band and mounted guard, 
made a grand parade of the city. They entered our yard, 
and, speaking with me from the veranda, they assured me of 
perfect safety and begged me not to be alarmed, as it was 
"nothing that pertained to me." I very quickly went into 
my room. 

The work did not cease until dark on Sunday, the 29th. 



342 The Massacre at Urfa. 

Oa Monday the Kurds and Arabs were prevented from enter- 
ing the city, the firing beginning about dawn. All day Sun- 
day a strong guard was about our premises. A captain of the 
army sat on his horse for hours at our northwest corner, just 
outside of the church premises. Repeatedly I received 
salutations and assurances of perfect safety from Government 
officials during that longest day I ever knew. It was evident 
that the utmost was done to protect inc. How willingly I 
would have died that the thousands oi parents might be spared 
for their children ! 

The work of plunder is complete. Literally naught remains. 
By actual count only ten Protestant houses remain untouched, 
and five of these are in the district which I have spoken of as. 

my shadow. 

The Number Lost. 

Our loss of life is one hundred and five, all but nine being 
men. These nine include two women and seven children, 
who were in the Gregorian church when it was sacked. Our 
wounded are many. I have eighteen under my immediate 
care. Most of these have several severe wounds. One has 
eleven ; one has eighteen; ghastly sword and axe cuts on head 
and neck. There are a few gunshot wounds. There is only 
one doctor for the whole city. He has three hundred and 
fifty, and cannot care for more, nor for these but in part. He 
came at my call to see one who we supposed must lose his 
hand, dressed the arm, and committed the case to my care. 

Thus far, thank God, all are doing well. I have found 
three persons who, like myself, are inexperienced in such 
matters ; but they are proving careful, sensible workers with 
me. We dress most of the wounds in the church. Our 
schoolrooms (all but one, used as headquarters of our guard) 
are crowded with some two hundred and fifty or three hundred 
of the most forlorn and needy. Our home is also full. Those 



The Massacre at Urfa. 343 

who are spared to their famihes are in great fear, and wish to 
be near me. We cannot receive all, and it is hard to daily 
turn away so many. Some have a little food, found in their 
houses, and some nothing. One of the several great men 
who have called to express sympathy, and to say, Turkish 
style, " It was from God," has sent provisions, for which I am 
exceedingly grateful. 

The Government provides about 200 loaves of bread per 
day for the poor. But all this kindness will soon come to an 
end, and utter poverty will be the lot of most. The Protest- 
ant pastor, the Rev. H. Abouhayatian, and several efficient 
members of the church are among the dead. I tried to secure 
the body of the pastor, but failed. His children — six — they 
immediately granted to me. 

Done Systematically. 

The custom in these affairs so general in Turkey seems to 
be for one party to rush ahead and kill. This is followed by 
another party which hurries off the women and children to 
some mosque, khan or some Moslem home temporarily open 
for their reception. Lastly, this operation is followed by the 
stripping of the house. Children often get separated from 
parents and are late in being found. One of the earliest offers 
made to me was to undertake finding any lost if I would send 
in the full name. My own guards, twenty in number since 
Sunday, do my every bidding as if I were a queen. I use 
them for help in all sorts of ways. 

Markets are closed, and it is very difficult to get some 
things much needed. We have had but forty-five beds given 
back to us of those plundered, and a few pieces of copper; 
as yet I fail to secure more, or instructions as to method of 
procedure for individuals to secure stolen goods. The Gov- 
ernment has large numbers of beds and much copper-ware 



344 The Massacre at Urfa. 

stored for return to the owners, but all fear to stir lest the end 
has not yet come. 

The aged Bishop of the Gregorians was spared, but only 
one, or possibly two priests. 

Our own teacher of the Boys' High School and several 
Gregorian teachers were killed. I believe the Gregorians are 
in greater suffering than the Protestants, having no foreigner 
to do for them, and any efficient ones spared are afraid to 
venture out. 

To-day the long-expected soldiers have arrived — eight or 
nine hundred. Our city has been guarded (?) by resident 
soldiers. We must have your prayers and your pecuniary 
aid. How are the people to live through this winter ? 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Last the Worst. 

BY KINSLEY TWINING, D.D., LL.D. 

The bare, bald and humiliating fact that must dawn on us, 
sooner or later, as to these Armenian massacres, is that, in 
spite of the assurance our nineteenth-century civilization and 
progress were supposed to give against such atrocities, the 
impossible has burst on us, and of all the records of cruelty 
and horror enacted by man on man, thisjatest extirpation of 
the Christian population in Asiastic Turkey is the worst. 

There is an awful ferocity in it which balks and baffles this 
fancied age of peace, and sets a-ringing in our ears the impre- 
cation which Mohammed died repeating : '' Lord, destroy the 
Jews and Christians ! " When at his first victory over the 
Koreish he ordered and supervised in person the massacre of 
six hundred Jews in one day, he could plead in extenuation 
the cruel necessity which religious fanaticism accepted as the 
law of God. He could even say that he had first pondered 
the question as it lay between a propaganda by truth and 
reason, or a propaganda by the sword, and that when at last 
the sword had been placed in his hand the cruelty of his cam- 
paigning was but the stern faithfulness of the Prophet against 
the enemies of God. 

When, under the Caliphs who succeeded him, women and 
children swarmed over the battle-fields, armed with clubs to 
beat the life from the wounded Christians, still warm and 
breathing on the ground, there still remained the plea that 

345 



346 The Last the Worst. 

Islam's God called them to this sacrifice of pity in the breasts 
of women and children. 

During the hundred years when Islam was trampling out 
the faith in Christ with fire and massacre in Syria and Egypt, 
shook its sword over the enfeebled churches of Africa, the 
rich fields of Spain, and finally went down at Poictiers under 
the tremendous blows of Charles Martel and his Austrasian 
Franks, during all this bloody course the Saracen could say 
for himself that he had confined his cruelty to the field of war, 
and that his reign in peace was mild and just. 

Some such palliation has been attempted for the Inquisition 
in Spain, for the Duke of Alva in the Netherlands, for the 
ineffable atrocities of St. Bartholomew's Day and the French 
Reign of Terror. 

Heathenish Ferocity. 

Torture as an adjunct of the law and for the examination 
of witnesses throws a black-enough cloud on the history of 
Europe from far back in Grecian times when Aristogeiton was 
tortured after the assassination of Hipparchus, or Philotas, 
when accused of conspiring against Alexander. It is to the 
everlasting credit of Egypt and of the Mosaic code that no 
traces of these terrible ministers of law exist in them ; while in 
Greece the wheel, the rack, the burning brick, were employed 
to further the ends of justice. 

For such barbarisms as these some palliation may be found 
in the prevailing customs, in the ideas of a dark age, in the 
gentler instincts of humanity blunted by the stern conception 
of an overmastering mission. Excepting for the fantastic 
atrocities of Nero, some such modifying considerations will 
apply to the two centuries and a half of persecution in which 
the Roman Emperors tried and tested the Christian Church — 
especially when emperors like Trojan, Marcus Aurelius and 
Diocletian are concerned. 



The Last the Worst, 347 

But when we search for comparisons with what has been 
going on in Asiatic Turkey against the Armenians for about 
seventeen years, there are no large examples anywhere to 
match it. A few solitary instances stand out in Roman his- 
tory, such as Suetonius's reports of the Emperor Tiberius 
adding zest to his besotted life by delight in these inhuman 
pleasures and these terrible pursuits, or of the monster 
Caligula introducing torture as the pleasing accompaniment 
of his dinners or a relish to his meals, while the Emperor 
Claudius sat by enjoying the fun. 

The Scourge of the Century. 

Expand these solitary instances, these demoniac examples, 
sifted out of all the history of the world's ferocious examples 
and preserved to us, not as characteristic of the times, but as 
horrible exceptions to affright the reader and as monumental 
subjects for everlasting scorn — expand these solitary instances, 
and we have before us the fair, typical representation of the 
Governmental extermination which Turkey has for these last 
fifteen years been practicing on the Armenian Christians in 
Anatolia, in an age of toleration, in a time of peace and social 
order. 

There never was anything like it before in the history of the 
world. The only model or precedent for it is to be found in 
the inhuman practices of a Tiberius or a Caligula, in serving 
up human torture at table as a dish fit for a king. 

What the Roman historian has described as the exceptional 
horrors privately practiced in Rome by its trio of imperial 
demons, has for seventeen years been the policy of Turkey 
for the government, the extermination, I should say, of the 
Armenians. It has called to its aid the passion, the lust, the 
fanatic ferocity of a population which in these elements of 
inhumanity was never surpassed ; with cool deliberation and 



348 The Last the Worst, 

proceeding one step at a time it has first despoiled these 

industrious tribes of the proceeds of the toil and thrift on 

which the Empire subsisted. When beggared, unarmed, 

helpless, and incapable of self-support or defense, it has taken 

from them the ordinary protection of law, denied them the 

common rights of trial for which Governments exist, and flung 

them instead into a Mohammedan saturnalia in which nothing 

was forbidden but humanity, and nothing rewarded but 

ferocity. 

Masters of Cruelty. 

No cruelty that could be practiced was omitted by these 
masters of the art. Fathers, husbands, friends were slowly 
and systematically done to death, while their wives, sisters 
and daughters were compelled to witness their sufferings. 
Wives were outraged in the presence of their husbands ; 
sisters, of their brothers ; maidens, of their agonized mothers. 
Women with child were ripped up by a demon soldiery, with 
bets among them on the sex of the unborn infants. With 
grim ingenuity these demons practiced an economy in their 
art which tortured the poor sufferers out of life slowly inch 
by inch and drop by drop, every inch in. agony, every drop 
the quintessence of some ingenious torture. 

As for the forms of law, none were thought of until it be- 
came important for the Porte to put a decent face on the terrible 
proceedings of its officers. Districts were laid waste, villages 
were burned, but pillaged first, of course. The Armenian 
population of thriving provinces fled in terror across the bor- 
der to Russia or to Persia. At Erzrum, Bitlis, Trebizond, 
Erzingan, it was the soldier and the official who led on the 
fray. 

At Harput, Urfa, Cesarea and elsewhere, it was the fanatic 
population let loose to plunder, torture, rape and work their 
brutal will on Christians, from whose property and person the 



The Last the- Worsi. 349 

protection of the civil law was removed. Probably seventy- 
five thousand Christian corpses lie mouldering in the glens, and 
around the once happy villages of Anatolia ; and, among them 
all, happy were the men who met their fate without torture, 
and the women who met it without outrage. 

The best impression of what it was comes to us from a 
woman who, frenzied by her sufferings, but still clinging to the 
drifting wrecks of faith, is reported to have cried among her 
kindred that God himself had gone mad, and that maniacs 
and demons were ranging the earth. 

Deliberate Murder. 

Never before in the history of cruelty has the Government 
^f a country thus reversed its functions, systematically, and 
;ith cool deliberation invoked such agencies for the predeter- 
mined extirpation of its population. Rdman rigor was not 
equal to this in its proceedings against the Christian faith. 
The martyrs of Lyons had nothing like this to confront. De- 
portation is bad enough ; but when before in the history of 
man has the deportation of a people been committed to fierce 
Kurds, hanging on the flanks of the fugitives to plunder the 
men and outrage the women as many times as a fresh bant 
might assail them ? 

One of the worst features of religious persecution has 
always been that it subjected the morally best, most refined, 
intelligent, pure and sensitive people in the community to be 
treated as the worst. 

Never before has the world had such an example of this as 
now. With cool and predetermined purpose, intelligent, 
thrifty and morally sensitive people have been thrust into the 
most infamous relations. The rich are system-atically beg- 
gared and left to sufferings more cruel than death. Teach- 
ers, scholars, ministers of religion, missionaries and people of 



350 The Last the Worst. 

refined life and character are submitted to the brutal rigor 
and infamous demoralization of Mohammedan prisons. Mo- 
thers have been compelled to witness with their own eyes the 
outrage of daughters whom they have been training in Chris- 
tian purity. Women not trained for the Turkish seraglio nor 
to set a low price on a woman's honor, but to rate it as dearer 
than life, have been violated in the open sight of day, on the 
public highway, and in the company of brutal men. 

Worst of all, these things are done in an age of light whose 
pulses are full of mercy and whose every policy is peace, 
done too with every feature of mediaeval brutality brutalized, 
with fury infuriated, and license libertinized, done with glee 
and gloating, in bold demoniac defiance of the light that, 
shines, the right that rules, the ideas that dominate the moral 
world for Turk and Christian, done with cold deliberation and 
persistent purpose against the protest of the Christian world, 
and with neither war nor rebellion to excuse them. 

And now the last step in this incomparable history of hor- 
rors adds an infinite hypocrisy to the infinite atrocity of it all. 
The Sultan rises to disclaim his deeds, and do homage to the 
humanities he has outraged as they were never outraged 
before. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Russia and Turkey. 

BY CYRUS HAMLIN, D.D., 

For?nerIy Missionary in Turkey and Foimder of Robert College, Con- 
stantinople, 

When Ivan III. married Sophia, niece of Constantin Palse- 
ologus, the last Emperor of Constantinople, he claimed to be 
the rightful heir to .the Byzantine throne and adopted its 
symbol, the double-headed eagle. This was in 1472, and 
during all these four hundred years Russia has kept her eye 
upon Constantinople. 

In 1492 Ivan III. wrote a letter to Sultan Bajazet com- 
plaining of certain acts of injustice to Russian merchants. In 
1495 he sent an Ambassador to Bajazet and ordered him not 
to bow the knee to the Sultan or permit any other ambassa- 
dor to have precedence. Thus began with offensive arro- 
gance a diplomatic intercourse of four hundred years which 
has become more polished, but not less imperious and agres- 
sive. Then Ivan claimed only 37,000 square leagues, or 
273,000 square miles. The Czar now claims 8,644,000, with 
a population of 102,000,000 (1880). 

The first conflict of arms occurred in 1569, and was signifi- 
cant of all the future between Russia and Turkey. Sokolli, 
the very able and enterprising Grand Vizier of Selim II., 
undertook to open a water communication between the Black 
Sea and the Caspian through the Sea of Azof and the rivers 
Don and Volga. These two great rivers approach each other 

351 



352 Russia and Turkey. 

within thirty miles, and then the Volga turns to the Caspian 
and the Don to the Sea of Azof. 

Sokolli had a powerful army, but the Russians fell upon 
him and routed his army at Astrakhan and his army and 
workmen on the Don. Russia thus struck a fatal blow to 
one of the grandest schemes for the expansion and strength 
of the Turkish Empire. The canal of only thirty miles then 
projected remains unaccomplished to this day. More than 
eighty years passed before another armed conflict occurred. 

A Decline Past Remedy. 

The decline of the great empire was very rapid. The Eng- 
lish Ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe {1622), declared that cor- 
ruption, venality, oppression and poverty, the wasting of the 
population and signs of anarchy proved the condition of 
things to be past remedy. It is just so now after 274 years. 

The destruction of the great Turkish army before Vienna, 
1683, and the disorder which followed gave Russia an oppor- 
tunity for war, which she improved, and wrested some impor- 
tant places from the Porte. She had been for a long time 
successful in stirring up war between Turkey and Austria 
and Turkey and Poland, being equally satisfied with the 
weakening of either party. After disastrous battles by sea 
and land with Venice, Austria and Poland the celebrated 
treaty of Carlowitz was signed (1699). England, Holland, 
Venice, Poland, Austria, Russia and the Porte were concerned 
in it. Austria, Venice and Poland were strengthened by it. 
Russia captured Azof and the shores of the Euxine. Turkey 
diminished and weakened. Since then Turkey has been a 
center of diplomatic war to the European nations, but all fear 
of her as a military power ceased. From that time Russia 
comes forward as the crafty and persistent enemy of Turkey 
and the claimant of Constantinople. 



Russia and Turkey. 353 

Peter the Great now began to rouse the Moldavians and 
Wallachians to revolt, and he declared himself the friend and 
defender of all the members of the Greek Church. He easily- 
found occasion to declare war with Turkey. It was a strange 
fortune for Peter to be caught in a position so commanded by 
the Grand Vizier that he could neither fight nor escape, and 
must have surrendered at discretion ; but the jewels of the 
Empress bribed the Vizier to make peace. Thus Peter the 
Great escaped. He was making vast preparations to break 
the treaty when he died (1736). 

Seeds of Evil to Turkey. 

War again, fierce and bloody, with victories and defeats on 
both sides, but with a great preponderance of loss to the 
Turks, ended in the peace and treaty of Kainardji. Its XIV. 
sections are too long to be discussed here. They were full 
of the seeds of evil to Turkey. Von Hammer calls it " the 
commencement of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, at 
least in Europe " (1774). Europe exulted in this crowned 
glory of Russia and degradation and humiliation of the Great 
Sultan. 

Russia soon broke th(S treaty and subjugated the Crimea, 
whose independence she had guaranteed. She declared, 
however, that she did it solely for the good of the people. 
She destroyed many thousands of the Moslems in the most 
ruthless massacres. Seventy thousand Armenians also, who 
would not join the Russian Church, were driven out into 
Turkey in a severe winter, and nearly all perished by the 
Way. In 1779 a modification of the treaty of Kainardji was 
made to suit the Czar and further humiliate the Sultan. 

After another fierce war the treaty of Jassy, 1792, gave 
Russia more territory and Turkey less; but the Empress 
Catherine only regarded it as furnishing an opportunity to 
23 



354 Russia and Turkey. 

make final and decisive preparation to take the great capital 
and place one of the royal family of Russia on the throne. 
Death interrupted her plans and saved Constantinople. 

The Treaty of Bucharest, 1812, closed another conquering 
war. Moldavia and Wallachia that had been occupied by 
Russia were given back to Turkey, who engaged to regard all 
the obligations of previous treaties toward Russia. Russia 
was called off by European wars and had need of all her 
troops. Turkey would always *' keep " for any occasion. 

The next important treaty between Russia and Turkey was 
that of Adrianople. The Sultan had lost his fleet at Navarino, 
and had destroyed his Janizaries ; Russia pounced upon him 
to destroy him. But the new recruits fought with such des- 
peration, that the campaign of 1828 was a failure. In 1829 
DIebitsch, with overwhelming force, crossed the Balkans and 
took Adrianople. A very damaging treaty was imposed 
upon Mahmoud while the Russian army was wasting away 
with cholera or plague at such a fearful rate that, had the 
Sultan delayed two weeks, he might have imposed conditions. 
He had to pay an indemnity of 1^25,000,000 and grant Rus- 
sia whatever privileges she asked. 

The Pasha of Egypt gave Russia the next good chance of 
contact with Turkey. His war-like son, Ibrahim, had con- 
quered Syria, and had united Asia Minor triumphantly. The 
Sultan called upon England for help, but her eyes were 
holden that she could not see. Russia jumped at the chance, 
entered the Bosphorus and landed an army on the Asiatic 
shore to defend Constantinople. The treaty of Unkiar Iske- 
lessi followed, and Turkey became little more than a vassal of 
the Czar. By successive and bloody wars and successive and 
skillful treaties she had made her gradual approaches until no 
liberty of movement in foreign affairs w^as left. 

England, France and Austria viewed this progress of Rus- 



Russia and Turkey. 355 

sia with alarm ; and when the Czar declared his intention to 
administer upon the estate of " the sick man," they, with Sar- 
dinia, united against him — Austria holding a semi-neutral 
ground. 

The result of the Crimean war need not be remarked upon. 
England triumphed at Sebastopol, and Russia at the Peace of 
Paris. Louis Napoleon, who had no honest streak in his 
character, betrayed the allies and united with Russia to secure 
absolute freedom of reform to Turkey, which was to make 
reform impossible. 

Beaten and Disorganized. 

Ten years more passed — a long space for Russia not to be 
at war with Turkey — and the Servian war of 1876 led to the 
Russo-Turkish war, in which the Turkish armies were beaten 
and disorganized, and Russia marched to the confines of Con- 
stantinople. She had at length the long-coveted prize in her 
grasp ; but the Congress of Berlin wrested it from her, made 
Bulgaria, Servia and Bosnia free, and left the Armenians to 
the tender mercies of the Turk. 

One thing should be considered in all this marvelous his- 
tory of aggression and increasing strength on one side, of 
growing weakness and ruin on the other: Russia has attained 
her ends by the power of gold as much as by arms. She has 
always a large party openly or secretly in favor of her plans. 
She has always opposed every reform which England has 
inaugurated. Lord Stratford De Redclifife was more than a 
match for her, but with that one exception England's attempts 
to strengthen Turkey have been notorious failures. Russia's 
labors to weaken her have been a notorious success. The 
result is Turkey is now in the hands of Russia. Europe 
looks on and thinks. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The Tyrant Turk and the Craven Statesmen. 

BY FRANCES E. WILLARD. 

An ancient nation is being slowly slaughtered at the foot of 
Mt. Ararat, fifty thousand victims stretched out under God's 
sky in the slow cycle of a year ; women, pure, devout and 
comely, suffering two deaths — a living and a dying death ; 
little children poised on the bayonets of Moslem soldiers, 
villages burned, and starvation the common lot. 

On the other hand, Christian Europe, with seven millions 
of soldiers who take their rations and their sacrament regu- 
larly; statesmen who kneel on velvet cushions in beautiful 
cathedrals, and pray, " We beseech thee to hear us, good 
Lord;" diplomatists who can " shape the whisper of a throne" 
and shade the meaning of an Ultimatum ; but neither states- 
man, diplomat nor soldier has wit, wisdom or will to save a 
single life, shelter a single tortured babe, or supply a single 
loaf of bread to the starving Christians on the Armenian 
hillsides: ''vested interests" are against it, " the balance of 
power " does not permit it, the will of the Sultan is the only 
will in the Empire of Turkey, and all the wills of all the 
Christian nations cannot move it one hair. 

The Turk is a savage, while the statesmen are — over- 
civilized ; he is a tyrant, while they are — craven cowards. 

Meanwhile, a star moves toward the East ; it caught its 
light from the Star of Bethlehem. One woman, well-nigh 
seventy years of age, takes her life in her hands and goes 
356 



Tyrant Turk and Craven Statesmen. 357 

forward to the rescue ; she goes to bind up wounds, to give 
out bread, to light the fires on blackened hearthstones, to put 
hope into broken hearts. She is a greater power to-day for 
God and Brotherhood than all the statesmen, diplomatists and 
soldiers. The world's eyes follow her with love, they cannot 
see her plainly for tears. 

Did our Heavenly Father overrule the wickedness of 
leaders to put before humanity an object lesson, on the 
broadest scale, of the futility of force and the omnipotence of 
Love? 



CHAPTER XXII. 

International Politics at Constantinople. 

BY GEORGE WASHBURN, D.D., 

Preside7it of Robert College, Constantinople. 

Constantinople has been the great battle-ground of Euro- 
pean diplomacy. England was the first in the field. The 
occasion of her action was the destruction of the Armenian 
villages and the massacres of many of the people in the 
Kurdish mountains near Sassun, in August and September, 
1894. The facts were denied by the Turkish Government, 
and she demanded an investigation and such reforms as should 
insure the safety and well-being of the Armenians. She 
invited Russia and France to unite with her in securing both 
these ends. They consented. Italy expressed a wish to join 
them, but this offer was declined. Austria and Germany were 
not invited, and did not wish to be, as they had no interest in 
Asiatic Turkey. 

England, France and Russia worked together m apparent 
harmony, secured a Turkish commission of investigation and 
appointed their own delegates to oversee its action. This 
Commission, appointed in November, 1894, continued its sit- 
tings until July, 1895, and a report of its doings has just been 
published in an English Blue Book. Meanwhile, the English, 
Russian and French ambassadors devoted their attention to 
the elaboration of a scheme of reforms for the six provinces 
in which the Armenians were most numerous. This was 
completed and presented to the Sultan as the minimum of 
358 



International Politics at Constantinople, 359 

reforms which the three Powers could accept, and his imme- 
diate acceptance of them demanded. This was in May, 1895. 
After a delay of more than two weeks, the Sultan returned an 
evasive and unsatisfactory answer. Up to this point the three 
Powers seem to have worked together in harmony. The other 
Powers, when appealed to by the Sultan, declined to interfere. 

Three Powers Opposed to Coercion. 

The question then arose what was to be done. Should 
these demands be presented as an ultimatum, and the Sultan 
be forced to accept them and carry them out ? or should they 
be left where they were as so much good advice, which he 
might take or reject ? England was in favor of coercion, but 
Russia and France opposed it. Just at this time the Liberal 
Government in England resigned ; the Conservatives came in, 
with a practical interregnum until after the elections in July. 
Lord Salisbury took up the question as he found it. Russia 
and France persisted in their refusal to admit of the use of 
force, and gave this assurance to the Sultan. Still the three 
Powers pressed their demands diplomatically, and the English 
fleet came into the vicinity of the Dardanelles. 

Germany expressed her sympathy with the Sultan, but still 
advised him to come to terms with the three Powers. At the 
end of September came the outbreak at Constantinople and 
the massacre of some two hundred Armenians in the streets. 
Three weeks later the Sultan accepted, with some unimportant 
modifications, the scheme of reforms presented to him in 
May, and here ended the alliance of England, France and 
Russia. There had been no real harmony between them for 
some time. Russia and France remained in it, not to help the 
Armenians, but to control the action of England, and, if pos- 
sible, prevent her sending her fleet to Constantinople. Still 
there was no positive, acknowledged break. 



360 International Politics at Constantinople, 

Meanwhile there had been massacres at Trebizond, Ak 
Hissar, Baiburt, Giumushkhane, Erzingan, Diarbekir, and 
other places, which showed that the situation was far more 
grave than any one in Europe had supposed. The excitement 
in England was intense. It was believed that there was a 
deliberate purpose to exterminate the Armenians, and the 
English Government believed that armed intervention was 
necessary to dethrone the Sultan, or at least to limit his 
power. Exactly what happened between the first of October 
and the middle of November between the Great Powers we do 
not know. There is reason to believe that Germany proposed 
to England to join the Triple Alliance, in which case the four 
Powers would go to Constantinople together. 

The Policy of Do-Nothing. 

England refused, and Germany resented it, and threw all 
her influence into the scale with Russia. At this point was 
formed the Concert of the Six Powers, which was simply a 
mutual agreement that no Power should act independently, 
and all the fleets gathered in the ^gean to watch each other. 
By the end of December it was evident that nothing would 
be done, and one by one they stole silently away, leaving the 
Sultan apparently master of the situation. There is no doubt 
that all through the year the Sultan showed consummate skill 
in this diplomatic conflict, and a better knowledge of the 
situation than most of the statesmen concerned in it. 

Technically he won the battle. England has been beaten 
and humiliated, and the Sultan is in close alliance with Russia, 
France and Germany, stronger, if he can trust his allies, than 
ever before. The Continental Governments have had a per- 
fectly free hand in this conflict, because there has been no 
popular feeling of sympathy for the Armenians. The Conti- 
nental press has either ignored the massacres, or represented 



International Politics at Constantinople, 361 

them as due to the revolutionary spirit of the Armenians. 
" Anyway," they have said, ** who are the Armenians ? What 
interest have we in these Asiatics ?" 

But can the Sultan trust his allies ? In fact he has but 
one ; France and Germany are simply bidding against one 
another for the friendship of Russia, and follow her lead at 
Constantinople. The real victor in this conflict is not Turkey, 
but Russia — who has played the part of a disinterested friend 
of the Sultan so well that she has, for the first time in history, 
driven England off the field, and become the sole protector 
of the Ottoman Empire, thus realizing the dream of centuries. 
The first result of this triumph is a close alliance of Russia 
with Bulgaria, Servia and Montenegro, and the overthrow of 
Austrian influence in the Balkan Peninsula, to be consum- 
mated this week at Sofia. 

Supremacy of Russia. 

Russia is now supreme in this part of the world, and can 
do what she pleases. What she will do with her newly- 
acquired influence remains to be seen. She will do nothing 
for the Armenians. That is certain. She has not professed 
any interest in them. She has before her three possible 
courses of action from which she must choose one. She may 
seize upon the present opportunity, the best she has ever had, 
to come to Constantinople, first, perhaps, as the friend and 
supporter of the Sultan ; but, anyway, come to stay. 

The alliance with the Balkan States makes this easy, even 
if the Sultan should be inclined to resist. But he will not. 
It is only necessary to stir up serious trouble in Constanti- 
nople to make the coming appear as a friendly act of a trusted 
ally. If no effort is made to put a stop to the troubles in the 
interior or here, this will be an indication that this plan is in 
favor at the Russian Embassy here, if not at St. Petersburg, 



362 International Politics at Constantinople, 

and may be realized soon. I do not think that either France 
or Germany would object, Austria is powerless by herself. 
Italy would be glad to resist, but could not. England is 
doing her best now to persuade herself that she cares nothing 
for Constantinople. 

What may Happen. 

The second possibility for Russia is to make her alliance 
with Turkey and the Balkan States as agreeable to them as 
possible, to do her best to restore and preserve order, and 
wdth them as allies to guard her rear and flank, to attack 
Austria and bring all the southern Slavs under her own rule, 
or at least under her protection. This is the dream of the 
Pan-Slavists, who are the strongest and most active party in 
Russia. This would mean a general European war; for Ger- 
many and Italy are bound by treaty to defend Austria from 
any such attack. France would improve her opportunity to 
recover Alsace and Lorraine. England pretends to believe 
that the old Austrian Alliance is no longer of any value to 
her, but the chances are that she would become involved in 
such a war. 

The third possibility for Russia is to maintain the present 
state of things here, to continue to play with France and Ger- 
many, giving encouragement to both, and securing the aid of 
both to destroy English influence in China, and to gain a 
commanding position there herself, with some compensation 
to France and Germany. This might lead to a war with 
England. 

It is plain that Russia cannot do more than one of these 
things, and to decide which is the most desirable and practi- 
cable will demand the highest statesmanship. My own opinion 
is that no deliberate choice will be made, but that, as in most 
Russian affairs, the decision will be left to chance, and be 



hiternaticnial Politics at Constantinople, 3G3 

determined by some accident, by a massacre in Constantino- 
ple, by some resentful action on the part of Austria in con- 
nection with the Balkan States, or by some event in the far 
East. Russia is never in a hurry. The Czar has determined 
to have grand coronation ceremonies in May, and will hardly 
be inclined to stir up trouble anywhere before that time. 

This is the outlook at present. I am not a prophet to fore- 
tell what is to come in the future, and I know ver}' well that 
nothing is more uncertain than the ways of European diplo- 
macy. The Great Powers have, each of them, some general 
ideas of what they consider to be their interests. Each has a 
policy of some kind. But now that the telegraph has put an 
end to all independent action on the part of ambassadors, and 
everything is managed by the foreign ministers — diplomacy 
has become a hand-to-mouth aftair. 

Uncertainties of the Situation. 

There is very little planning for the future. It has become 
an axiom that it is time enough to meet a difficulty when it 
arises. Nothing is more difficult than to get an ambassador, 
or a foreign minister even, to express an opinion on what he 
would do under given circumstances next week. He is only 
too happy if he can get through the troubles of to-day. In 
addition to this there are special reasons for uncertainty' at 
the present time in the character of those who control the 
action of the Great Powers. The Sultan, to begin with, has 
proved himself to be one of the boldest and most skillful diplo- 
matists in Europe; and his point of view is so totally different 
from that of Christian rulers that no one can calculate in what 
direction it will lead him. 

The Emperor of Russia is a weak man, little inclined to 
rule and liable to be influenced now by one part}^ and now by 
another. The Emperor of Germany is an enigma — some say 



364 International Politics at Constantinople. 

a genius, some say a madman— at any rate, he is hasty in his 
decisions and has the most absolute confidence in himself. 
France has no stable government, and no able statesman. 
She is at the mercy of demagogues. The wisest sovereign in 
Europe is the Emperor of Austria ; but he may die any day, 
and his successor is a stick. Lord Salisbury was described 
by Bismarck as not a man of iron, but a man of wood cov- 
ered with tin plates ; and his conduct of the Armenian 
question has seemed to justify this view. 

The English Premier Lost his Opportunity. 

Certainly he had the game in his own hands up to the last 
of November, and if he had had the courage to order the 
fleet to force the Dardanelles and come to Constantinople he 
would have won the day and gained the place now held by 
Russia, whose complete triumph is not due to any superior 
skill in diplomacy either here or at St. Petersburg, but simply 
to Lord Salisbury's lack of courage to do what he wished 
to do. 

With such elements of uncertainty in the methods of diplo- 
macy and in the men who direct it, it would be folly to 
venture upon any predictions for the future. Things may 
drift on for months or years very much as they are to-day, or 
some unforeseen incident may change the whole face of Europe, 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Blot on the Century. 

BY FRANCIS E. CLARK, D.D., 
President of the United Society of Christian Endeavor. 

The Armenian problem is by no means a new one, though 
it has reached its acute stages only within the last three years. 
Had there been no atrocities in Sivas and Harput, no massa- 
cres in Marash and Cesarea, there would still be abundant 
reason for the indignant remonstrance of the civilized world, 
and for the interference of the Great Powers in behalf of long- 
suffering Armenia. 

The rule of the Turk is hopelessly and remedilessly bad 
wherever that rule extends. The mildew and blight of his 
occupation are found wherever the Star and Crescent wave. 
Just as truly as in the olden days, destruction and desolation 
were left in the wake of* the victorious " horse-tails " of the 
triumphant Sultans, so now desolation and destruction are 
left in the retreating wake of the decadent and conquered 
Sultan. 

The history of six hundred years teaches us that it is of 
little use to talk about mending the reign of the Turk. There 
is nothing left but to end it. To mend it is out of the ques- 
tion ; to end it is the only hope for Moslem and Christian alike 
who dwell within the Sultan's domains. 

We hear less about the tribulations of the Syrians and the 
Arabs of Palestine and other parts of the Levant than of the 
dreadful fate of the Armenians : but their troubles are none 

365 



366 The Blot on the Century. 

the less real, even if they do not so much excite the horror 
of the civilized world. 

Throughout a large section of the fairest part of the earth's 
surface business enterprise and intellectual progress, to say- 
nothing of religious freedom, have long been dead. In the 
fair lands which border on the Mediterranean, lands which 
should be the garden spots of the earth, there is, and has 
been for many generations, poverty, wretchedness and squalor, 
which can hardly be credited in lands that are better governed. 

Naturally the character of the people has deteriorated, and 
a hopeless fatalism or cunning mendacity, which seeks to win 
by deceit what it cannot gain by fairer methods, has become 
characteristic of the people. In fact, whether we consider the 
character of the people, the soil on which they live, the 
houses that cover them, or the institutions by which they are 
misgoverned, we find that the trail of the Turk is over them all. 

The traveler through Palestine cannot but be impressed by 
these facts ; still more he who takes the overland journey 
across Asia Minor, where the Turk has had more full and 
undisputed sway. 

Great Natural Resources. 

He will find himself in a land of great natural resources 
and large possibilities ; a land with a fertile soil, and exhaust- 
less mines of precious metals ; a land of rushing rivers and 
bold and rugged mountain scenery. When the Turk is 
deposed and some decent Government establishes its sway in 
Asia Minor, we shall read of Cook's Parties and Gaze's 
Tourists in the magnificent land of the Taurus. The Cilician 
gates will be open to the traveler, though for many years they 
have been practically closed by the inefficient shiftlessness of 
a Government which taxes the people to death for roads which 
are never built, and bridges which are never constructed. 



The Blot on the Century. 367 

Then the mines which, with their hidden treasures, have 
been sealed to all enterprise, will pour their wealth into the 
world's coffers. But now the Turk reasons, with character- 
istic phlegm, that so long as the mines are undisturbed the 
wealth of the nation is intact, and he does not propose to 
allow outer barbarians to come in and open up mines and cart 
off his treasures of gold and silver. This is carrying the 
stocking-leg theory of finance to its absurdest limits. To be 
sure the traveler finds one feeble, struggling little railway on 
the Mediterranean coast of Turkey from Mersin to Adana, 
a distance of about forty miles. It was built by foreign 
capital, however, and is managed by foreign enterprise, and 
has been hampered and taxed almost off the face of the earth 
by the ruling Turk. 

Difficulties of Travel. 

There is also a passable wagon-road for Turkey for a few 
miles from Tarsus toward the Cilician gates ; but this passable 
road soon runs into an almost impassable cart-track, the cart- 
track degenerates into a camel path, and though the camel 
path does not exactly " run up a tree,'^ it seems to lose itself 
when it gets to the most inaccessible portions of the Taurus 
Mountains, or at least is fit only for the sure-footed '' ships of 
the desert " that continually traverse it with their swaying 
loads and their tinkling bells. The only bridges in many 
parts of the country are those built by the Romans eighteen 
hundred years ago so substantially and so scientifically that 
the war of the elements and the neglect of the Turk for 
twenty centuries has not been able to destroy them. 

It should be said that this road, which starts from Tarsus, 
comes to light here and there during the hundreds of miles 
which lie between the birthplace of St. Paul and the ancient 
city of Angora, in old Galatia ; but it as often gets lost again 



368 The Blot on the Century. 

or is obstructed and rendered impassable by falling trees and 
descending bowlders, which no one has energy enough to 
move out of the way. And yet this road is the excuse for 
wringing tens of thousands of pounds every year out of the 
poverty-stricken inhabitants. To be sure the money is not 
expended upon the road, and every year it is falling into a 
more utterly impassable condition ; but no matter, it furnishes 
an excuse for yearly taxes and for more misgovernment. 

Stone Huts for Hotels. 

There are no hotels in our sense of the word, or inns, even, 
of the humblest character along this highway, which is the 
only artery between Constantinople and the Mediterranean 
ports ; but there are stone huts called khans, in which men 
and bullocks and camels and asses may rest their wearied 
bodies in delightful promiscuity, while all are impartially 
attacked by other occupants that are not recorded in the 
census, and are not registered upon the books even of a 
Turkish khan. 

For much of the distance along this highway every tree 
and shrub and root has been plucked up to furnish a little 
scanty fuel for the shivering inhabitants. The broad stretches 
of tableland, naturally fertile, are so poorly tilled with the 
rude implements of the past, that only a scanty population 
can be maintained, and these at "a poor dying rate," where 
millions might thrive under a good Government. 

The villages in the interior are, for the most part, built of 
sun-dried mud, though sometimes of stone, and are filthy 
and squalid beyond all description — dead sheep and donkeys 
and camels lying in the streets. I have myself counted in 
one street of a little village more than a dozen dead animals, 
which the inhabitants were too unenterprising to bury or to 
haul away. 



The Blot on the Century. 369 

Very naturally, all enterprise and energy are killed out of 
such a people by hundreds of years of misrule and oppres- 
sion. Why should a man strive to get on in the world, when 
he knows that he will only make himself by his enterprise 
the special prey of the oppressor ? Why should he plant an 
orchard of superior fruit, when he knows the tax-gatherer 
will get the best of it ? Why should he try to improve his 
worldly condition in any way, when he knows that unless he 
can cover up his wealth and simulate poverty, he will but 
become the target for every corrupt and unscrupulous official ? 

A Land Picked to the Bone. 

The land of Turkey has been picked bare ; even the pin 
feathers of enterprise, if we may be excused the expression, 
have been singed off by a rapacious officialism during many 
generations. 

And now these centuries of atrocious misrule and almost 
inconceivable corruption are crowned by the murder and the 
pillage and the wholesale massacres, which have caused the 
blood of civilization to run cold, outrages that will mark the 
years of 1895-96 with s^ch blots as no other years have 
known for many centuries. Yet the civilized world allows 
the Great Powers, each disarmed against the Turk by their 
mutual jealousies, to look on supinely while the butchery in 
Armenia never ceases. Still, the Queen's speech, read at the 
opening of Parliament in the year 1896, talks gingerly about 
the Sultan's promises to institute reforms, while very likely, 
at the very moment when her speech was read, the Sultan's 
hirelings were murdering Christians, pillaging their property 
and firing their villages ! 

What will our grandchildren think of the boasted civiliza- 
tion of the nineteenth century ? How v/ill the people of the 
happier age which is to come, look back with shuddering 



370 The Blot on the Century. 

horror, not only upon the deeds enacted in Turkey, but, with 
scarcely less horror, upon the Christian nations, who, by 
reason of their insane jealousy of one another, permitted 
those atrocities, which they might have prevented. 

Alas, that this century should be known not only as the 
century of invention and discovery, of the railway and the 
steamship, and the telegraph, and the telephone, — the century 
of reHgious progress and missionary enterprise, — the century 
of the Sunday-school, and the young people's movements, 
but also the century, stained with the deepest dye of Christian 
blood of which the great Christian Powers can never wash 
their hands ! 

God grant that before the record of the century is closed, 
before the Armenians are utterly exterminated, and no faith- 
ful Christians in Asia Minor are left to rescue, Europe and 
America may awake to their responsibilities and tardily save 
themselves from the reproachful scorn of future generations. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Armenians— Who are They? 

BY JAMES D. BARTON, D.D., 

Secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 

According to Armenian histories, the first chief of the 
Armenians was Haik, the son of Togarmah, the son of Go- 
mer, the son of Japheth, the son of Noah. It is an interest- 
ing fact that the Armenians to this day call themselves Haik, 
their language *'Haiaren" and their country '' Haiasdan." 
*' Armenia " and ** Armenian " are words which cannot be 
spelled with Armenian characters or easily pronounced by 
that people. That name was given them and their country 
by outside nations because of the prowess of one of their 
kings, Aram, the seventh from Haik. 

Probably this people is composed of the resultant of strong 
Aryan tribes overrunning, and conquering the country now 
occupied by the Armenians, and which was then possessed 
by primitive Turanian populations. Subject to the vicissi- 
tudes of conquest and invasion, the borders of Armenia have 
fluctuated. Lake Van has always been within the kingdom, 
and the capital has usually remained, during their highest 
prosperity at the city of Van. They have had a long line of 
kings of valor and renown. 

They were an independent nation, but with varying degrees 
of power, until A. d. 1375, when they became completely a 
subject people. Since that time their country has been under 
the Governments of Russia, Persia and Turkey, far the larger 
portion being in Turkey. During the years of their greatest 

371 



372 The Armenians — Who are They? 

prosperity, from 600 b. c. to about 400 A. d., this nation played 
a prominent part in the wars of the Assyrians, Medes, Per- 
sians, Greeks and Romans. 

There are, perhaps, from two and a half to three millions 
of Armenians in Turkey, Russia and Persia. In the absence 
of accurate records we must be content with a mere estimate, 
based upon observations and inadequate Government returns. 
In no extended district do they comprise a majority of the 
inhabitants. They are everywhere mingled with and sur- 
rounded by Kurds and Turks. The Armenians are forbidden 
to carry or possess arms under severe penalties, while the 
other races are armed, many of them by the Government. 

First Nation to Adopt Ohristianity. 

Armenian histories relate that, soon after the resurrection 
of Christ, Abgar, the King of Armenia, with his court, 
accepted Christianity. This was short-lived, however ; but in 
the third century, A. d., under the leadership of Gregory the 
Illuminator, the Armenian people, as a nation, became Chris- 
tian. This was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a 
national religion. The Church was called " Gregorian " by 
those outside, but " Loosavochagan " by the Armenians, the 
word meaning " Illuminator," the name given to Gregoiy. 
The Gregorians and Greeks worked in harmony in the great 
councils of the Church until 451. At the fourth Ecumenical 
Council, which met at Chalcedon that year, the Gregorian 
Church separated from the Greek upon the so-called Mono- 
physite doctrine, the former accepting and the latter rejecting 
it. Since then the Gregorian Church has been distinctly and 
exclusively an Armenian national Church. 

The organization and control of the Church is essentially 
Episcopal. The spiritual head is a Catholicos ; but in addi- 
tion to him there is a Patriarch, whose office bears largely 



The Armenicms — Who ai^e They? 373 

upon the political side of the national life as related to the 
Ottoman Government. There are three of the former residing 
in the order of their importance at Echmiadzin, in Russia; 
Aghtamar, on an island in Lake Van, and at Sis, in Cilicia, 
each with his own diocese. There are two of the latter 
residing at Constantinople and Jerusalem. There are nine 
grades of Armenian clergy. 

The Bible was translated into their language in the middle 
of the fifth century. Owing to a change in the spoken tongue 
the Bible became a dead book to the people, although it was 
constantly read at their church services. As the priests 
scarcely ever understood the Scripture which they read, 
Christian doctrines were kept alive by oral teachings ; but the 
restraint upon life which pure Christianity exercises was largely 
removed. They blindly accept the Bible as the Word of God. 
They have many large, fine churches, some of which are sev- 
eral hundred years old. 

Centuries of Persecution. 

This nation has suffered great persecutions for its faith 
during the last eleven centuries, but with wonderful patience 
and endurance has clung ^ to the old behefs and forms o^ 
worship. Mission work was begun among them for the pur- 
pose of introducing into the Church the Bible in the spoken 
language of the people, in order that its teachings might 
reform the Church and the nation. 

The Armenian nature is essentially religious. Born into 
the Church, its customs, traditions and teachings have large 
influence over the life. Although much of their teachings 
and many of their customs are based upon mere traditions and 
are not in accord with the enlightened, educated Christianity 
of the West, nevertheless the fact that during the last few 
months thousands among them have deliberately chosen 



374 The Armenians — Who are They? 

death, with terrible torture, to Hfe and Islam, shows that 
among them there exists much essential Christian faith. 

It must not be overlooked that the old Church has been 
greatly enlightened and elevated by the mission schools and 
colleges planted in their country, and the evangelistic work 
carried on among them. They, too, in imitation of the evan- 
gelical branch of their nation, have organized schools^ 
accepted the Bible in the spoken language, and introduced 
into their church worship many of the methods of Christian 
instruction used by the Christian Church all over the world. 

An Armenian Proverb. 

The Armenians' greatest enemy outside of Islam is their 
incompatibility of character. They cannot agree among 
themselves. ^^ Haik voch miapan'' ("Armenians cannot 
agree") is one of their many proverbs. This is their national 
weakness. Owing to this fact, which led to internal jealousies 
and bickerings and strife, during the period of their most suc- 
cessful national life, they were weakened, then disrupted, and 
finally completely subjugated. This characteristic has con- 
stantly appeared in the management of their ecclesiastical 
affairs ; and the Turks, in order to control them, have made 
great use of this weakness, playing one party off against 
another. 

The source of this national weakness lies in their jealousy 
of imagined or actual rivals. Suspicious of each other and 
jealous of competition, the race has been broken up into fac- 
tions which has rendered impossible anything like a national 
growth or unity, and has made it easy for the ruling Turk to 
keep them in complete subjection. Many times the Arme- 
nians themselves have been the most effective instrument in 
the hands of their diplomatic rulers in checking national 
progress. 



The Armeniaits — Who ai^e They? 375 

Owing to this fact, if for no other reason, a plan for a general 
revolution upon the part of the Armenians could lead only to 
exposure and failure. The most intelligent have from the 
first fully understood this, and have deprecated any agitation 
which must necessarily end in disaster. The advocates of 
revolution have almost invariably been men of narrow views, 
with no leadership in the nation at large, who have, outside 
of Turkey, organized rival societies to collect money from 
credulous Armenians to the credit of their own personal bank 
account, and for the injury of their protesting people in 
Turkey. This same characteristic would make it impossible 
to-day for the Armenians to be self-governing. 

The Armenians are the most intelligent of all the people of 
Eastern Turkey. In Western Turkey their only rivals are 
the Greeks. They far outclass their Mohammedan rulers in 
the desire for general and liberal education, and in their ability 
to attain to genuine scholarship. During the last twenty 
years few institutions of higher education in the United States 
and in England have failed to have Armenians among their 
pupils, and the rank which they have usually taken is most 
creditable to the race. 

The popularity of Euphrates College, in Harput, and of 
Central Turkey College, at Aintab, whose students are almost 
exclusively Armenians, as well as Anatolia College, at Mar- 
sovan, and Robert College, at Constantinople, which have 
many Armenians among their students, taken together with 
the fact that large sums are paid each year by the people for 
the education of their sons and daughters, all proves that, in 
addition to the ability to advance mentally, there is a strong 
desire upon the part of the Armenians for general enlighten- 
ment. Bilingual from childhood, and many of them trilingual, 
they learn languages easily. 

Their general tendency is to prefer metaphysical studies, 



376 The Armenians — Who are They? 

being inclined rather to the speculative in their manner of 
thought. They have taken readily to the idea of female 
education, and the three colleges for girls in Turkey are 
among her most popular evangelical institutions. These are 
largely patronized by the Armenians. This nation has pro- 
duced many well-known scholars, which fact, taken together 
with the general high standard of scholarship among her 
students, and the eager desire prevalent among the people for 
a liberal education, shows that the race intellectually compares 
favorably with the most favored nations of the world. 

An Enterprising Race. 

The Armenians are the farmers, artisans, tradesmen and 
bankers of Eastern Turkey. They have strong commercial 
instincts and mature ability, and, being industrious withal, 
have made much progress in all these lines. In spite of the 
heavy restrictions placed upon them by the Turkish Govern- 
ment, in the form of general regulations and excessive taxes, 
in some parts of Turkey the leading business operations are 
largely in their hands. In some sections of the vilayets of 
Harput and Diarbekir, twenty-five years ago, the land was 
owned almost entirely by Moslems, but rented and farmed by 
the Armenians. 

At that time the Armenians were not permitted to possess, 
to any extent, the soil. Lack of industry upon the part of 
the Mohammedans, and the acquirement of property upon 
the part of the Armenians, largely by emigration to the United 
States, have led the Turks to sell their ancient estates to 
Armenians, who are supplied with funds from their friends 
who are working in this country. The careful management 
of the property thus acquired led to the advancement of the 
TDroprietor farmer, while the one from whom the land was 
purchased was left without an income. 



The Armenians — Who are They? 377 

While the Turks, in many of the principal cities where 
Armenians dwell, own most of the shops, the renters are 
largely Armenians. An intelligent Turkish Governor once 
told the writer that if the Armenians should suddenly emi- 
grate or be expelled from Eastern Turkey, the Moslem would 
necessarily follow soon, as there was not enough commercial 
enterprise and ability coupled with industry in the Turkish 
population to meet the absolute needs of the people. 

Readily Adapts Himself. 

The Armenian, while industrious and naturally inclined to 
follow in the footsteps of his father, takes very readily to a 
new trade. When emigrating to foreign countries he easily 
adapts himself to his new surroundings and does creditable 
service in almost any line of work. This adaptability, 
together with a tendency to hold on to a line once begun, has 
given a stable character to the nation. 

The Armenian is domestic in his habits and aspirations, 
and not military. In the early history of the race we do not 
find much written of their conquests. They did not go out- 
side of their borders, as a general thing, to conquer their 
neighbors. While not lacking in physical courage and prow- 
ess in war when called to defend their country against inva- 
sion, they did not seek to conquer. Sometimes in driving 
back an aggressive foe they carried the war into his territory 
and levied upon it for injuries received ; yet it never seems to 
have been their ambition to be a great nation ruling over 
conquered races. Their chief ambition appears to have been 
to possess in quiet their beloved fatherland, " hairenik;' where 
they might worship God according to the demands of their 
own national Church. 

To-day they have no desire of conquest or ambition to 
rule. Their greatest wish is to be permitted to enjoy without 



378 The Armenians — Who aj^e Theyf 

fear the blessing of their simple domestic life, together with 
the privileges of worship and education and the opportunity 
to possess in peace the fruits of their frugal industry. The 
Armenian loves his children and is most closely attached to 
his home. When he emigrates it is only for the purpose of 
trade and gain. His heart's affection centers in the old rude 
home to which he, if unprevented, will return to rejoin his 
loved ones. In all his native land the city or village of hi:^ 
birth is the dearest spot on earth. 

Habits and Characteristics. 

The Armenians are most simple and frugal in their manner 
of life. Uncomplaining and generally cheerful, they continue 
their occupations, following in the footsteps of their fathers 
without desire for change. The son of the carpenter is a car- 
penter content with the adz and saw, and the shoemaker 
sticks to his last without a thought of being anything else so 
long as that trade serves him. The home life is patriarchal, 
the father ruling the household, and the sons bringing their 
wives to the paternal roof 

In the event of the death of the father the oldest son takes 
his place at the head of the family. The aged are held in 
high esteem, and their counsel sought and honored. The 
women occupy inferior positions, the nation copying many 
customs in regard to them from the Turks among whom they 
live. They are not an immoral race, but are inclined to drink 
wine which is a cheap product of their country. 

Thus we have a race old in national history when Alexan- 
der invaded the East ; and with its star of Empire turning 
toward decline when the Caesars were at the height of their 
power; a nation not mingling in marriage with men and 
women of another faith and blood now as pure in its descent 
from the undiscovered ancestors of nearly three decades of 



The Armenians — Who are They? 379 

centuries ago as the Hebrews stand unmixed with Gentile 
blood ; with a language, a literature, a national Church, dis- 
tinctively its own, and yet a nation without a country, without 
a government, without a protector or a friend in all God's 
world. 

This is not because it has sinned, but because it has been 
terribly sinned against; not because of its intellectual or 
moral or physical weakness, but because it has little to offer 
in return for the service, which the common brotherhood of 
man among nations should prompt the Christian nations of 
the world to render. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The Turkish Question in Germany. 

BY THE COUNTESS VON KROCKOW. 

Was it Lord Palmerston who said of the Schleswig-Holstein 
war, now over thirty years ago, that nobody understood the 
cause of it but himself, and he was not sure ? I remember 
reading the anecdote and retain this gist of it, which is, as it 
seems to me, the gist of a large number of political problems, 
the Turkish question included, although few statesmen are so 
outspoken as to own their ignorance and confusion in the 
face of it. 

In Germany, during the recent disturbances in the Ottoman 
Empire, no one even set up as a seer ; nor did any one go so 
far as to try to demonstrate the enormity of the crimes going 
on, as was the case in America and England, or denounce 
them, as did Gladstone, with weight and power. Not only 
light was conspicuously wanting, but passion likewise. The 
young Emperor, who is superficially considered a hot-headed 
champion in all current matters, was silent upon this. None 
of the many words which he uttered in public was spent on 
the massacres of Armenian Christians. 

What went out of his Cabinet to the press of the country 
was ambiguous or cynical in tone. The people were left 
without any clear or sharp impression either as to what was 
desired by the Ministry or what was being pursued by it. Its 
inaction during most of the time, its cross-actions on occasion 
— as when it refused to support England and Russia in the 
380 



The Turkish Question in Ge^^many. 381 

request to the Porte to permit extra vessels of war to enter 
the Bosphorus — its evident intriguing as time went on, alone 
gave the people a hint that its policy was, for the present at 
least, a policy of non-intervention. 

Political Parties in Germany. 

Why this policy was adopted, native Germans understand 
as little as foreigners understand it. They are as much in the 
dark over the attitude taken by His Majesty's Government as 
outsiders are. In the Imperial Diet no interpellation has been 
made on the subject ; and if one were ever proposed, it has 
been suppressed before it reached a stage that rendered the 
proposition a fit subject for public attention or scandal. Very 
probably no such proposition was ever broached or supported. 
For who should make it save the Opposition ? And what 
does the Opposition consist of in Germany? Of Socialists 
and Liberals, or of men who are opposed by principle to war 
and State religions, and of the advocates of trade. 

When the impulsive public in America feel moved to 
wonder over the apathy of the Germans before this grave and 
horrible spectacle going on in the Christian East, they should 
recall to mind, in order the better to apprehend it, certain far- 
reaching historical facts. Among these facts, for example, is 
the important one of religion having taken on the form of an 
established Church and, in the main, this Church has been 
subservient through its ministers to the powers that be. Now 
these latter powers were, until a recent period, many and 
oppressive. Hence, when antagonism raised itself, it raised 
itself against both the State and the Church. 

There are six million Socialists in Germany — working men 
and women, factory hands, artisans, petty burghers, the poor 
and ill-to-do of many classes ; and this vast factor in the 
population disparage contesting with the brutal might of arms 



382 The Turkish Question in Germany. 

over religion, and, in the Turkish question, which is largely a 
matter of religion, they logically express deprecation of both 
contestants — Christians and Mussulmans. The Evangelical 
Synod in Berlin expels a pastor (the Rev. Dr. Naumann) for 
advocating Social Reform through Socialistic means ; in 
response, the Socialistic multitude point in derision to holy 
synods that go further, and, for a difference in doctrinal 
opinion, cause the exile of whole communities, or their tor- 
ture and death, cause a Turkish question with all that it implies ! 

Sympathy for Armenians. 

There is indubitably private, intense sympathy among this 
class for the sufferers in Armenia ; but publicly and officially 
all expression of it is excluded. The Socialists this very year 
have been schooled and trained in repression of natural 
feeling; they took no part in the jubilations over the estab- 
lishment of the Empire and the commemoration of the victory 
of Sedan ; much less, therefore, could their leaders call upon 
them to take part in our foreign contests. And without Social- 
ists and their families, who compose in every large city the bulk 
of the street population, how were the German mass-meetings, 
that Englishmen and Americans have missed, to take place? 

The Church, the press, I hear my reader exclaiming, have 
they no bowels ? Is everything in the hands of Socialists ? 

It would be absurd of me to pretend to know the reasons 
for the attitude of the Church ; or, indeed, of any one of the 
great organizations that I am passing in review in treating of 
the question that interests us. I take the opportunity here 
of stating that all my explications are mere attempts to 
account for the apathy which constitutes the characteristic 
demeanor of Germans towards the Turkish troubles. If 
single clergymen here and there throughout the country have 
lifted up their voices in protest against this apathy, their pro- 



The Turkish Question in Germany. 383 

testations have been without great effect. This is all that a 
private observer of affairs, like myself, can affirm with safety. 
It is common for the Church, as a body, not to run counter 
to the Government; and the Government's position of neu- 
trality once having become evident, it would have been unpre- 
cedented for the Church to have opposed this policy by actively 
striving to arouse the public conscience to antagonism against 
it. In being subject to the State, the Church is practically on 
all occasions subject to the governmental will ; and what may 
be called the Non-conformist body of Christians in Germany 
have nothing like the vigor and public spirit of English Non- 
conformists. I would like to leave this chapter to more 
competent hands. As a layman, the thought suggests itself, 
And are not clergymen also citizens and susceptible to the 
drifts of political loves and enmities, like other men ? 

Why Germany Hesitates. 

For here must be mentioned another powerful cause of 
German hesitation in taking the part of their oppressed fellow- 
Christians in Armenia — the hatred of England. The Turkish 
question cannot be settled for good and all except by means 
of war and the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire ; and 
who, in case of such dismemberment, would have the gain ? 
Why at present, whatever other countries might secure, Great 
Britain would be certain to obtain the lion's share. And 
Bismarck has taught Germans not to approve of England 
increasing her territorial possessions; his warnings, his work, 
his political testament were both openly and secretly against 
such increase. 

The interruption in this long and steady policy, caused by 
the young Emperor's wilfulness, was an episode. It was 
already passed when the reconciliation of the Monarch and 
the retired Chancellor took place in 1894. German dispar- 



384 The Turkish Question in Germany. 

agement of England became vehement after that incident. It 
had been cultivated into being during Bismarck's regime. 
The Emperor's telegram to President Kriiger was, to the 
initiated, much more than a personal impulse ; it was an ex- 
pression of popular feeling, and a betrayal (over-hasty) of a 
fixed policy — of a policy that embraces^ in German opinion, a 
portion also of the Turkish question. 

*' What call has the Fatherland to scorch itself in drawing 
chestnuts out of the fire for England ? " was a phrase that 
could be read in many newspapers w^ien the probability or the 
chances of a war were discussed. And although it was inti- 
mated that the astute Chancellor, Prince Hohenlohe, would 
know how to win some compensation for Germany's aid in 
such a war, still it was calculated that these winnings would 
be less than could be demanded later when the power of 
Greater Germany (the P'atherland and its colonies) should 
have had time to become consolidated. 

The action of the German Government in the China- Japan 
war, through which, by supporting Russia in exerting a 
pressure on Japan, Germany had secured, without cost or 
trouble, two Chinese islands for coaling stations, seemed to 
point to a plan and continuity in the imperial foreign policy. 
" Let the present disturbances be used on our side to push 
our commercial interests," wrote the editor of the National 
Liberal News of Dresden. " We have no political interests 
in the Turkish question. Germany is friendly to the Sultan, 
and our merchants will be welcomed by Mussulman traders 
who have sufficient cause to withdraw their business from the 
hands of the brow-beating English to give it to their well- 
wishers." 

The trade returns will have to be studied, I fancy, by every 
historian who sets himself to ferreting out the causes and 
results of Germany's policy in the Turkish-Armenian trouble. 



The Turkish Question in Germany. 385 

If Germans were as accustomed as are English men and 
women to look over the field of the Government's colonial 
work and were become familiar with the condition of foreign 
peoples, and were schooled in the sentiment of" fair play;" if, 
in a word, Germans were as public-spirited as are the popula- 
tions of Great Britain and America, their voice would be 
lifted aloud as are the voices of English-speaking peoples 
against the wrongs and persecution of the Armenians. 

But, as matters necessarily are, the really knowing ones " 
consist largely of members of corporations engaged in foreign 
enterprises, and these naturally have an eye chiefly for the 
opportunity which circumstances present them with, for 
increasing business. And the Government only follows the 
precedent which Great Britain has given the world for two 
centuries, when it strenuously supports them. 

Finally, the attitude of Russia must be regarded when a 
reason is looked for to explain Germany's non-enforcement of 
the Berlin Treaty. The taking part against England involves 
an advocacy of England's enemy, Russia, and this enemy is 
Germany's neighbor. History tells us how Prussia has ever ^ 
been forced to fawn upon this terrible colossus, and the main- 
tenance of this traditional relationship is as much a need of 
the new Empire as ever it was of the little Electorate of 
Brandenburg and Kingdom of Prussia ; indeed, since the war 
of 1 870-'/ 1 with France, and the French threats of revenge, 
the need is become absolutely imperative. 

Germany would be between an upper and nether millstone 
if it stood between the ponderous enmity of the Czar as well 
as the fretting wrath of France. Hence the last words of 
warning of the old Emperor, which doubtless have been ring- 
ing in the ears of the statesmen in Berlin whenever they dis- 
cussed the Turkish question : ^' Keep on good terms with 
Russia." 

2r 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Turkish Oppression. 

BY HERANT MESROB KIRETCHJIAN, 

General Secretary of the Armenian Relief Association. 

"The oppressive character of the Government of the 
Turkish Empire with respect to the subject races," is a very- 
clear declaration on the part of the editor of The Independent 
of the situation in the country known as the Turkish Empire. 
It is a character that is important; it is an actually existing 
Government that counts, and the mischievous results of that 
Government concern the civilized world to-day more in the 
relation to the "' subject races " than the general reformation 
of that misrule itself. The question is not so comphcated as 
vast ; not requiring so much skill in dealing with it as patient 
study to have a full comprehension of the main factors enter- 
ing into it as potent influences. 

As in a medical examination, so in this, euphony of diction 
is to be sacrificed to truth ; and, first, the " Government of the 
Turkish Empire," as it is to-day and has been for 500 years, 
is only Mohammedan domination with regard to the non-Mo- 
hammedan population in the country. Secondly, the '' sub- 
ject races " are only slave population and prisoners of war ; 
and, thirdly, the essential character of that domination over 
those races has been a thorough and absolute system of op- 
pression. 

In entering upon remarks regarding the character of that 
oppression, it might be necessary to point to the proofs of the 
above statements regarding the Government itself and the 
386 



Turkish Oppression, 387 

status of the "subject races." For that part, it is quite suffi- 
cient to point to the whole history of the Turkish Govern- 
ment through every step of its settled existence during 500 
years. Not very keen insight is necessary, either, but only 
deliberate study and simple, impartial judgment, to convince 
any intelligent mind of the justice of the charges. 

The character of the oppression of the Turkish Government 
must be tried by the one test which stands higher than all 
theory and even logical inferences ; by that test which has the 
stamp of the highest authority and comes with the power of 
a prima facie evidence that compels conviction : " By their 
fruits, ye shall know them." 

Judged by its Fruit. 

The timber of the oak is what tells, and we care not so 
much for the foliage or the acorn. The flower of the rose- 
bush is enough to satisfy us regarding the result of the gar- 
dener's work ; but from the orchard we expect fruit, and by 
its fruit we judge of the value of the husbandman's labor and 
of the wisdom of his management. A Government is not for 
exhibition. It is not merely to make history. Before the 
judgment bar of God and man it is to stand and be judged by 
the fruit of its influences upon human life ; its happiness, its 
comfort, its development — moral, physical and intellectual. 
Judged by that standard, 

I. The Government of the Turkish Empire, in its relation 
to the " subject races," is found to be radically and essentially 
oppressive. 

The Turkish Government is based upon the Mohammedan 
religion, the component elements of which are the Sword and 
the Koran. While for half a century European diplomats 
have been deceiving themselves and the civilized world that 
the Koran could cease to be the law that regulated the move- 



388 Turkish Oppression, 

ments of the Sword, the events of the past year and a half 
have proved what the history of the Turkish Government has 
long ago demonstrated, that the Sword and Koran are united 
so that nothing but the death of one or the other can put 
them asunder. 

Oppression a Settled Policy. 

If the Government of the Turkish Empire could be induced 
to recognize and permit the development of an *' Ottoman 
Empire " after the type of civilized governments, where the 
equality of all citizens before the law is the basic principle, 
oppression in that Government might be treated as a disease ; 
but as the Turkish Empire has always been, and is to-day, a 
" Mohammedan Empire," oppression of the Christian and the 
"infidel" in it is a constitutional quality. 

For those who have at heart, not only the fate of the Chris- 
tian races in Turkey, but also the interests of civilization and 
Christendom at large, this must stand as the most important 
element in the case, namely, that the Government of the 
Turkish Empire, when true to itself, and standing upon the 
ground of its highest eflriciency, is by nature destructive of 
those forces which make for righteousness In this world, and 
are the foundation of that which is counted by the Aryan races 
as the highest civilization. All the other characteristics are the 
outcome of this one essential fact, and will be Influenced by 
the remedy brought to bear upon this root of the evil itself. 

2. Turkish oppression is universal. It oppresses the '^sub- 
ject races " in all places and in all their relations. The unal- 
terable disabilities deny them justice In the courts, assuring 
immunity to the robber and the highwayman and the swin- 
dler, if he is only a Mohammedan. The prosperity of the 
Christian races, merchant and artisan, dependent upon justice 
and protection, is thus reduced to a deplorable minimum. 



Turkish Oppression, 389 

Poverty is the highway open before every Christian com- 
munity; but as taxation, unremitting, unlimited, and merci- 
less, is also the law of the land, the instinct of self-preserva- 
tion drives them on to labor incessantly in order to remedy 
the evil as far as possible. In spite of a fertile soil and abun- 
dant natural resources, therefore, the " subject races " of the 
Turkish Empire are under the heel of a grinding oppression. 

Without Modern Improvements. 

After centuries of honest, toilsome life, in sight of the 
golden dawn of the world's greatest century, and with the 
thunder of the chariot-wheels of modern progress in their 
ears, the Christian "subjects'' of the Sultan are there to-day 
without railroads or even highways, without any " improve- 
ments," ancient or modern, in science or art, agriculture or 
sanitation, with no police and no fire-alarms, no water-works, 
and no house-lighting or street-lighting system ; and as the 
shadows of evening descend, the entire land from Ararat to 
the Adriatic sinks into fitful slumber under the black wings of 
anight of terror and insecurity that best enables weary souls 
to comprehend the felicity of a hereafter when '' there shall be 
no night there." 

The universality of the oppression is also assured by the 
fact that the Mohammedan of all conditions, however ignorant 
or dull in other respects, is remarkably well versed in this 
one doctrine, that he is lord and master while the Christian 
is the slave, who is to be reminded of his subordinate con- 
dition with every opportunity. An intelligent residence of 
any length of time in Turkey would convince one of this 
almost astounding fact. The Governor and the Pasha, as 
true Moslems, have never had scruples in denying justice 
to the Christian, in receiving bribes from defendant and 
plaintiff alike, in extending their protection to the murderers 



390 Turkish Oppression. 

of men and the ravishers of women; but the barbarous Kurds 
on the mountains, as well as the beggar women in the 
streets of Constantinople, are just as conscious of their 
privilege in this direction as the watchful guardians of 
Turkish law in high places. 

On the hills of the Golden Horn, above Balat, on a sunny- 
afternoon, a Protestant minister was out walking with a little 
girl and her brother. The girl was dressed after the fashion 
of Europeans, and to guard her eyes from the bright sunlight 
a green veil covered her face. There were Turkish villages 
around, and a group of Turkish women were passing by. 
Suddenly one of them sprang toward the little girl and 
snatched the veil from her head, and tore it into shreds with 
ominous mutterings and imprecations. The veil was green, 
the sacred color of the Mohammedan religion, to be worn 
only by the highest clergy. How could the child of the 
accursed " Giaour " dare to go about under its shadow ! 

Years afterward, far away on the jagged heights of Monte- 
negro, a bridal party of Christians was attacked, as reported 
by the British Consul, by a band of Turkish ruffians. They 
cut the bride into pieces, half killed the bridegroom, raised a 
funeral pyre, and burned the dead and dying under the rays 
of the setting sun. The bride had worn a green velvet 
jacket. Away on the mountains of Armenia the Kurdish 
Chief Genjo, upon the recovery of his son from a fatal 
malady, went out to seek a thank-offering to the God of 
Heaven, and the sacrifice he decided upon was the lives of 
seven Christian priests. Up and down through the length 
and breadth of the Turkish Empire, at the hands of millions 
of Mohammedans, universal oppression in every conceivable 
shape has been the law for the " subject races" of the Turkish 
Empire. 

3. The oppression of the Turk is cumulative. Poverty 



Turkish Oppression. 391 

and ignorance bring degradation, and degradation hardens 
human nature; cruelty becomes an instrument, and lust is 
there as the impelling power. Slowly, steadily, from 
villages to the city, from the cities to the capital of the 
Empire, the great tidal waves of cruel oppression have 
brought devastation through the centuries, and once and 
again the return current has dashed itself against the high- 
lands of Armenia, as well as the habitations of other Christian 
races, and opened before the eyes of Christendom ghastly 
pictures of blood and destruction^ that to the minds c '' "^he 
uninitiated have appeared as accidental developments. The 
forces of this evil are there always, and are constantly ac- 
cumulat'ng their momentum. 

Fanaticism not Uncontrollable. 

It is a farce to speak of inability to control fanaticism on 
the part of the Government or the Sultan of Turkey. It 
were just as reasonable to speak of the helplessness of the 
man to avert disaster who loosens a mighty bowlder from the 
mountain heights above his village, or finds the entertainment 
of a summer day by carving a channel in the dam above the 
city. Sure enough, the ignorance of the Mohammedan dis- 
qualifies him from understanding the science of the correlation 
of forces in the kingdom of the devil; but of their nature he is 
not ignorant, and glories in his liberty to set them movinp- in 
the midst of the Christian populations of the Empire. 

4. And, hence, the greatest evil of Turkish oppression is 
its far-reaching character. We must admit thnt there are 
degrees of sin and evil ; that there is a sin against the Spirit 
which far outweighs many transgressions. The oppression 
of the Mohammedan Government by its universal, cumulative 
weight has crushed and is now crushing out those spiritual 
qualities which make the fiber of true human souls. No one 



392 Turkish Oppression. 

who believes in the soul of man and its undying worth, 
could fail to be appalled at the sight of the havoc that has 
been wrought upon the manhood of the peoples inhabiting 
Turkey in consequence of Mohammedan oppression. 

Degeneration and degradation lose their significance here. 
It is spiritual contagion ; it is intellectual rottenness. From 
early childhood, thousands of the Christian subjects of the 
Turkish Government, directly or indirectly in its employ, are 
led to seek promotion by qualifying to serve men whose busi- 
ness is theft and corruption. A pasha or governor in the 
interior seeks an accountant or a treasurer, not to render 
accurate accounts to the Minister of Finance, but to devise 
ways and means by which both the imperial treasury and the 
population of the district can be robbed in a manner that will 
be the least open to detection and the most profitable for tb^' 
private treasury of the Pasha or the Governor himself. 

Thousands of the Christian youths of the land, naturally 
the most intelligent and capable among them, have been for 
centuries trained in a school of corruption and villainy, to 
oppress their own countrymen, as the servile tools of the 
corrupt officials of the Government. The most approved 
methods of fraud and bribery, of smuggling and wholesale 
deceit have, therefore, been at a high premium in the land 
known as the Turkish Empire, from the morning that the 
Crescent waved over the walls of the city of Constantine. A 
lie is disreputable if it fails to deceive. It has the double 
reward of both remuneration and promotion to higher service 
if it prevails. How blessed the Christian under-secretaries of 
the Turkish Foreign Office, when they return with the trophies 
of the intellectual scalps of the astute diplomats whom 
Europe sends to Constantinople to fish for facts in the awful 
maelstrom of falsehoods of Turkish diplomacy ! 

It is a matter of surprise, indeed, that there are men in 



Turkish Oppression, 393 

high places of the Christian West who have fallen into the 
habit of measuring the hideous injustice and oppression of all 
the Christian races in Turkey, only in a balance where 
houses, farms, and bodies of men and women can be weighed. 
We have been asked : " Oh ! the condition of the Christians 
\\\ Turkey is surely not intolerable, except for these occasional 
massacres, which European diplomacy ought to prevent?" 
and the answer is : "No, the disasters of fire and sword are 
nothing compared to the frightful havoc of the souls of men 
that has been brought with an iron hand and a persistent, 
unrelenting compulsion upon the Christian races in Turkey." 

An Unmitigated Curse. 

Turkish government, which is mainly nothing but a colos- 
sal avalanche of corruption and sensuality^ overwhelming the 
peoples of Turkey, cannot be justly qualified by any definition 
that falls short of signifying an absolutely unmitigated curse. 
I am reminded here of the sterling words of the golden- 
tongued prophet, the noble Gladstone, who stands towering 
above British mediocrity in these dark days of ours: "This 
is strong language, gentlemen, but language must be strong 
where the facts are strong." 

We are told that the condition of the Christians in Turkey 
might be worse; they might have been exterminated. It 
surely is in order to ask here. Where is the justice of it, when 
there is help for it ? What right has Europe to attend to the 
balance of power that is kept at the right level by piling high 
in the pan of the scale, souls of men, both of Turk and Chris- 
tian, laid low with the contagion of corruption and the rotten- 
ness of all iniquity combined, in order that they may serve as 
dead weights ? 

And the iniquity of this condition and the awful responsi- 
bility at the door of those who are responsible for it, is 



394 Turkish Oppression, 

enhanced by the fact, that the Christian " subject races " 
under the Government of the Turkish Empire, have been 
striving and struggling through all these years of subjection, 
for a higher manhood, nourished by the abundance of good 
works, and especially at the touch of Western civilization, 
have been aspiring for their highest possibilities, as individual 
men and as nations. 

No Hope of Remedy. 

This qualification of the oppression of the Turkish Govern- 
ment is especially justifiable and unavoidable, because, 

5. An essential factor in the character of the oppression of 
the Turkish government is its hopelessness. Some one wrote 
upon a prison wall the gamut of national degeneration. It 
went down from wealth and pride to war and poverty, and 
then started on a return tide of industry and prosperity back 
over the same path. If there is any correctness in this itiner- 
ary, it must have counted upon rapid transit not to give time 
for pride and poverty to leave an impression upon the soul of 
the nation. The universal, accumulative and all-pervading 
flood of Turkish oppression has torn up and borne down with 
it every single anchorage and mooring of virtue and manhood 
for the ship of State, so that no returning tide is ever possible 
for it. 

Action and reaction, with increasing rapidity even through 
the past fifty years, have brought disastrous loss in all direc- 
tions ; so that Turkey has to-day less money, less manhood, 
less wisdom, less patriotism and less confidence in itself. 
Only one power rises in the midst of universal degeneration, 
and that is the rampant spirit of desperate and malignant 
oppression. 

In the midst of the colossal calamity of tens of thousands 
of innocent people murdered in cold blood, villages and cities 



Turkish Oppression. 395 

laid in ashes, and hundreds and thousands of men, women 
and children on the verge of starvation and death from expo- 
sure to the cold blasts of a highland winter, civilized nations 
of the world stand appalled and appear to consider the diffi- 
culty of the situation as insurmountable. But it is not so. 
First, there is the hope, if hope it may be called, in the prin- 
ciple that evil destroys itself, while the good rises strong with 
the power of self-propagation with every morning's sun. 

The Woes of the Turk. 

The Turk is destroying himself. His government of op- 
pression is as great a curse to himself as to the Christian ; 
and Europe, in permitting and well-nigh supporting that 
oppression, has been as great a criminal against the Turk as 
against the Christian. What is wanted, therefore, for the 
Christian " subject races " in Turkey, languishing under the 
cruel yoke of this murderous oppression, is protection. If the 
Christian governments of Europe are unwilling as yet to sep- 
arate the Sword and the Koran, they are surely in honor 
bound to extend the protection they so easily can extend to 
the Christian population in the Turkish Empire, and practi- 
cally isolate the Mohammedan with his Sword and his Koran. 

That is the efficient remedy of the situation, and one which, 
in the name of justice and humanity, honor and civilization, 
all believers m human rights can demand at the hands of 
those w^ho have the power to apply it. Pure air and good 
soil are the best disinfectants. Before the swelling tide of 
Christian civilization, wnth its bracing atmosphere of justice 
and liberty, and the healthful soil of industry and continued 
well-doing, the Mohammedan oppression will be driven away 
as the floating clouds and pestilential miasma are blown away 
before the breath of the mighty North wind, and nature blos- 
soms into full life in the warm light of heaven. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Missionary Work in Turkey. 

BY JUDSON SMITH, D.D., 
Secretary of the American Board of Coinmissio?iers for Foreign Missions. 

The first notice of an intended mission within the Hmits of 
the Turkish Empire appears in the Annual Report of the 
Board for 1819, nine years after the Board was organized. 
Missionaries of the Board were already at work in India and 
among the aboriginal tribes of America, and a mission to the 
Sandwich Islands was under contemplation. In this report 
the committee dwell upon the reasons for a special interest on 
the part of Christian people in the re-establishment of pure 
Christianity in the historic regions honored by the earthly life 
of our Lord and traversed by His first disciples. 

Palestine was the region specially in mind, but the com- 
mittee recognized the fact that the occupancy of a much wider 
field was included in the beginning of missionary work in 
Jerusalem, and the writer of this first report referred to 
" Smyrna, the provinces of Asia Minor, Armenia, Georgia and 
Persia, Mohammedan countries, in which, though there are 
many Jews and Christians, there is still a deplorable lack of 
Christian knowledge and of Christian life." Before this year 
had ended, the Rev. Levi Parsons and the Rev. Pliny Fisk 
were set apart to establish a mission at Jerusalem, and in the 
following year entered upon their labors, touching at Malta 
and taking up their residence at Smyrna for a time before 
they reached their destined field. From these labors, by a 
process of natural development, missionary work at first 
396 



Missionary Work in Turkey. 397 

intended for Palestine, afterward set up in the Island of Malta 
and in Athens, came to take a firm and lasting hold upon the 
Turkish Empire. 

Extension of the Work. 

In 183 1 work was opened at Constantinople by Dr. Goodell, 
re-enforced by Dr. D wight in the following year, and thence 
gradually it was extended to Smyrna, Brusa, Trebizond, Erz- 
rum, Aintab, and so on throughout the entire district of Asiatic 
Turkey. The aim in the establishment of the original mission 
in Palestine and in these later stages of missionary work in 
Turkey, had respect to the entire population of the Empire, 
and this aim has never for a moment been abandoned or lost 
sight of, and remains to-day an unfulfilled but inspiring 
purpose. 

Actual missionary work, however, was restricted by the 
laws of the Empire to the Christian populations, chiefly the 
Armenians and the Greeks, and to the Jews, and this has been 
the characteristic feature of the work of the Board in the 
Turkish Empire. An ancient but corrupted form of Chris- 
tianity it has been sought to purify and bring back to a true 
acquaintance with the Gospels, a living faith in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and a life molded in its spirit and aims by the 
Scriptures and by Him of whom they testify. It was not the 
intention of the missionaries to establish a separate Protestant 
community, but to assist, if possible, in a movement that 
should result in the reformation of the existing churches. 

The excommunication of the evangelicals from their own 
Church and community by the Armenian Patriarch of Con- 
stantinople changed their plans and made necessary the orga- 
nization of Protestant churches and of a Protestant commu- 
nity, which were at once formally recognized by the Turkish 
Government. This action took place in 1847 and introduced 



398 Missionary Work in Turkey, 

a change in the methods of missionary work, but not a 
change of aim. 

It is a most happy circumstance of these later days, that 
the reformation of the Gregorian churches which was making 
such progress prior to the separation has reappeared, that 
these churches have in many instances come into most friendly 
relations to the neighboring Protestant churches, the true 
evangelical spirit has manifested itself with cheering results 
among the priests and people, and the original hope of the 
mission has begun to be realized in many parts of the Empire. 

One Great Mission Field. 

Originally the entire field of Turkey was regarded as one 
mission with its center at Constantinople; but the practical 
difficulties of holding a yearly meeting of the mission at any 
one point, with other considerations, led to the division of the 
Empire into the four fields of the present time — the Western 
Turkey mission, embracing territorially the larger part, 
including as its stations Constantinople, Nicomedia, Briasa, 
Smyrna, Marsovan, Cesarea, Sivas and Trebizond ; the Central 
Turkey mission, lying to the south of the Taurus Mountains, 
and to the west of the Euphrates Valley, with its two princi- 
pal stations at Aintab and Marash ; the Eastern Turkey mis- 
sion, including what lies between these two fields and the 
Russian and Persian borders, having for its stations Erzrum, 
Harput, Mardin, Bitlis and Van ; and the mission in European 
Turkey, of later origin, chiefly among Bulgarians, with its sta- 
tions at Monastir, Philippopolis, Samokov and Salonica. 

From the beginning, work in behalf of the Greek Chris- 
tians, found in certain parts of the Turkish Empire in consid- 
erable numbers, has constituted an integral and very interest- 
ing part of the whole enterprise, but has never constituted a 
distinct mission. 



Missionary Work in Turkey. 399 

The languages employed in missionary work have been the 
Armenian, the Greek, the Turkish, the Bulgarian and in cer- 
tain portions of the Central Turkey mission and of the East- 
ern Turkey Mission the Arabic. The Bible translated into 
these languages, has been widely distributed, many text-books 
for school use have been provided, and a somewhat extended 
volume of Christian literature has been made available for the 
people by the efforts of the missionaries. 

The Bible House at Constantinople, one of the great cen- 
ters of missionary activity and a right arm of the missionary 
work, sends out through all the Empire annually many mil- 
lions of pages of the Scriptures and of other literature for the 
instruction and edification of the Christian people, as well as 
text-books for the mission schools. 

Character of Missionary Work. 

The direct Christian work in these missions in Turkey has 
been most energetic, widespread and effectual, and many self- 
supporting, evangelical churches are found in the great cen- 
ters in each of the missions. Education has been a marked 
feature of the work in these missions almost from the begin- 
ning, and nowhere else in the fields occupied by the Board 
have we to-day so many institutions of a high grade, so fully 
attended. 

Anatolia College at Marsovan, Central Turkey College at 
Aintab, and the Institute at Samokov, for men alone, the 
American College for girls at Scutari, and the Central Turkey 
Female College at Marash, for women alone, and Euphrates 
College at Harpiat, for both men and women, are all institu- 
tions doing a work of true college grade adjusted to the spe- 
cial conditions found in the Turkish Empire. Robert Col- 
lege, on the Bosphorus, though entirely independent of the 
missions, is a striking result of missionary labors and 



400 Missionary Work in Turkey. 

strongly re-enforces missionary influence. These colleges 
are re-enforced by twenty-six high schools for boys, nineteen 
boarding schools for girls, all thoroughly manned and 
attended by about 2,000 students, and by 350 common 
schools, with more than 16,000 pupils. 

At the head of all stand the five theological schools, in 
which men are trained directly for the native pastorate. It 
will suggest the breadth and fruitfulness of the work if atten- 
tion is called to the 125 churches now in these missions, with 
12,787 members, with 100 native pastors, 128 other preachers, 
and a total force of native laborers numbering jj*^. It is fur- 
ther evidence of the quality of these churches that last year 
they contributed for all purposes but little short of ^68,000. 

An Educational Centre. 

A work having the same origin with these missions, con- 
ducted by the Board for many years, achieving a like success, 
and now in the care of the Presbyterian Board of New York, 
is in progress in Syria, having its great educational center at 
Beiriat. The Reformed Presbyterian Church of America sus- 
tains a small but successful medical and educational work at 
Mersin in Asia Minor. 

Work in behalf of the Jews in different parts of the Empire, 
at first included in the missions of the Board, is now in the 
care of missionaries from Great Britain ; there is also an inter- 
esting work supported by the Society of Friends in this coun- 
try carried on in different parts of Palestine. But, providen- 
tially, the great bulk of the missionary work in the Turkish 
Empire has devolved upon the American Board, and has at 
length reached nearly every principal city and village in 
European Turkey and in the territory from the Dardanelles 
and the Mediterranean eastward to the Russian border, and 
from the Black Sea southward to Syria and Arabia. 



Missionary Work in Turkey. 401 

At no time has the work of the Board in Asiatic Turkey, 
been in better condition or presented greater promise than 
within the last year. And it is upon the Armenian people, 
among whom this work has been so largely carried on, that a 
wild storm of massacre and pillage has fallen, sweeping the 
country from Trebizond southward into the valley of the 
Euphrates, westward to Marsovan and Cesarea and out to the 
Mediterranean Sea, covering the entire territory of the east- 
ern and central missions and those parts of the Western 
Turkey mission that are adjacent. 

Thousands have been foully murdered, chiefly the leading 
business men, and hundreds of thousands of those dependent 
on them have been left utterly destitute ; many a Protestant 
pastor and teacher has fallen in loyalty to his faith, and mis- 
sion chapels and schools in great numbers have been burned 
to the ground. The stations where educational work centered 
have been especially assailed, and at Harpiat and to some degree 
at Marash, the plant has been well-nigh swept out of existence, 
and the missionaries themselves exposed to deadly peril. 

The Heart of the Christian World Stirred. 

Sympathy for the people, so broken and bleeding, is almost 
as widespread as Christianity and civilization, and generous 
gifts for their relief are steadily flowing to Constantinople. 
There is an additional reason why, for the American people, a 
peculiar interest should attach to the present situation in 
Turkey. Upon the uplifting and enlightenment of a noble 
portion of the people in the Turkish Empire, American citi- 
zens have already expended more than ;^6,ooo,ooo, have 
established there a mission plant worth to-day ^1,500,000, are 
annually devoting to the further development of this work a 
sum exceeding ^150,000, and have there as their representa- 
tives, distributed in small groups over the whole Empire, a 
26 



Z;^^?^! 




<02 HORRIBI.Y TORTURED FOR THEIR CHRISTIAN FAITH 



Missionary Work in Turkey. 403 

band of 152 men and women, among the noblest and the best 
that our Christian homes and schools can produce. 

The bearing of these men and women in the midst of the 
terrible scenes of the last four months, their calmness when 
the people were filled with dread in view of the approaching 
scourge, their courage when death was all around them and 
even when it stared them in the face, their faith that out of all 
this tumult and distress will come the enlargement of God's 
kingdom in this land, their steadfast purpose to remain at 
their posts and share the troubles of their people and minister 
to their wants, proof against the natural shrinking of their 
own hearts, against the pleading of friends at home, against 
the persuasions even of those to whom they must look for 
protection — these things have won for them the meed of 
universal praise. 

Another Name for Heroism. 

The name missionmy has gained a new definition by deeds 
like these, and instead of a term of reproach or ridicule, it has 
become almost a synonym of hero and heroine. And all this 
noble conduct has filled the Armenian nation v/ith boundless 
love and gratitude, and has bound their hearts to the mission- 
aries with hooks of steel. Henceforth this whole nation will 
be like wax in the hands of these their protectors and bene- 
factors and personal friends. And even beyond the Armenian 
people, many and many of the Moslems are noting this high 
proof of the Christian faith, and are enshrining in their 
hearts' admiring love the names we cherish, and longing for a 
share in their faith. 

But it as teachers and exemplars of the Christian faith and 
life, not as political deliverers, that they have won their place; 
no political aim has ever been allowed to enter into this wide- 
spread and most effective Christian labor; and the missionary 



404 Missionary JJ^ork in Turkey. 

operations of the Board stand clear of all responsibility for 
the grave political disturbances which threaten the stability of 
the Empire. They have been loyal to the existing Govern- 
ment and have inculcated this duty upon their pupils ; they 
have sought to make better men and better citizens of all 
those with whom they have had to do ; and no truer friends 
of the Turkish Empire and of all its people than the Ameri- 
can missionaries have lived within its borders these seventy 
years past. 

For the protection of themselves and of their legitimate 
enterprise within that territory, guaranteed by treaty rights, 
and numerous precedents, and long-continued usage, we may 
justly claim the utmost exertions of our own Government and 
the friendly regard of all mankind. It cannot be that upon 
this work, to which so many precious lives have been given, 
on which such treasures have been expended, on the success- 
ful maintenance of which such vast interests depend, ruin 
hopeless and universal is now to fall May we not rather 
cherish the hope that this storm is for cleansing and purifying 
and shall endure but for a night, and that a day of brightness 
and glor}^ is soon to dawn upon this great Empire ? 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Turkey and the Turks. 

BY REV. EDWIN MUNSELL BLISS, 

The term Turkey, as ordinarily used, is applied distinc- 
tively to the section including Asia Minor, Armenia and 
Kurdistan, and is thus by no means identical with the Turkish 
Empire. European Turkey, Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt and 
Tripoli in Africa have each their own individuality, and were 
they withdrawn from Turkish rule Turkey would still remain. 
Take, however, this section, which may be called Turkey 
proper, out of the Sultan's hands, and though he continued in 
power, even at Damascus or Bagdad, Turkey would cease to 
exist. This integrity of Turkey proper is due partly to its 
topography, but chiefly to the fact of its being dominated so 
thoroughly by the Turks. 

From the Bosphorus.to Persia there are no natural bound- 
aries. The mountain ranges either follow the coast line or 
blend in an inextricable maze both on the east and west. The 
rivers double upon themselves in most perplexing style, while 
high plateaus of varying extent and great fertility are scat- 
tered over the whole area with full impartiality. The result 
of these general characteristics is seen in histor}'. The whole 
region has either been under the control of some one power 
or has been divided among petty kingdoms, with no definite 
limitations, each depending for its extent upon the variable 
valor of its troopers and the ambition of its chieftains. 

When Romans or Greeks entered from the west, the 
Assyrians from the south and the Turks or Mongols from the 

405 



406 Turkey and the Turks, 

east, they found themselves in much the same condition as the 
Russians in Central Asia, compelled to subdue the various 
tribes one after another, or leave the country and confine their 
rule to regions more easily traversed. Greeks, Romans, 
Assyrians, Mongols, failed to make permanent their Empire. 
The only ones who stayed, met the various difficulties, 
brought the whole region under one centralized Government 
and held it for any length of time, were those who have given 
their name to the land and who are to-day the ruling class in 
Turkey, the Turks. 

The story of how this Tartar tribe, after various expedi- 
tions, secured its footing in Western Asia Minor and built up 
its government, is one of the most fascinating in history. In 
the progress from chieftainship to empire, under such leaders 
as Orchan, Mohammed II., Suleiman the Magnificent, and 
others, there were many vicissitudes. At times there seemed 
to be no Hmit to their power, and Europe stood aghast as the 
Turkish troops gathered twice under the crumbling walls of 
Vienna. The valor of the citizens in the one case and the 
conscientious fidelity of Sobieski in the other proved more 
than a match for the Asiatics ; and they fell back. 

At other times the great Empire with its heterogeneous ele- 
ments seemed on the point of crumbling to pieces, but always 
there was some Innate power that secured a rebound, until it 
was stronger than ever. There was, too, the strange kaleldo^ 
scope of European diplomacy. Francis I., of France, led the 
way, with an alliance with Suleiman against Austria ; then one 
power and another coquetted with Sultans, bribed viziers, or 
alternately cajoled and threatened the Porte, until the great 
strife came between Napoleon and the Czar, and the ^* Great 
Elchi," Sir Stratford Canning, inaugurated the reign of British 
influence. 

The story of the present century is too full of varying 



Turkey and the Turks, 40 7 

phases to be even outlined here. It is sufficient to say that 
notwithstanding the loss of province after province ; notwith- 
standing an administration, probably the most corrupt and 
worthless in the world ; notwithstanding repeated massacres 
of its best tax-payers ; notwithstanding a steady, unwavering, 
unmitigated oppression, which has ground the very life out of 
the fairest lands of the Empire, that Empire stands to-day, 
and we hear less of the approaching dissolution of the " Sick 
Man " than has been heard for over half a century. 

What is the reason for this continuance of a Government 
which has been generally considered so weak that for over a 
century its partition has been a familiar theme for European 
statesmen ? The popular answer is, the jealousy of the Euro- 
pean Powers, which acts as a prop on every side. There is 
undoubtedly truth in this ; but there is another element that 
enters in as a most important factor, ancl that is the Turkish 
population. 

Population of Turkey. 

There are no reliable statistics of population in Turkey. 
The latest available estimates give about 11,000,000 for 
Turkey proper. This is divided among Turks, Kurds, Cir- 
cassians and other Moslem tribes, Armenians and Greeks. 
Here again there is no good basis for accurate apportionment. 
Probably there are about 6,000,000 Turks, 1,000,000 Kurds, 
500,000 Circassians, etc., 2,000,000 Armenians, 1,000,000 
Greeks, and the remaining 500,000 are Jews, Jacobites, for- 
eigners, etc. Thus the Turkish element is by far the strongest 
in numbers. It is also so distributed as thoroughly to domi- 
nate the whole territory, and it has certain elements of 
character which have had an important part in the organization 
and preservation of the Empire. 

The Turkish character is often very much misunderstood, 



408 Turkey and the Turks, 

partly because the foreigner sees only certain phases of it, 
partly because it is in truth very self-contradictory. The 
historian reads chiefly of the terror inspired wherever Turkish 
troops have gone, and his vision is filled with pictures of 
burning villages and long lines of exiles or slaves. The 
average reader of to-day thinks- only of the '' unspeakable 
Turk/' dwells upon the terrible recital of the scenes at Sassun, 
Erzrum, Urfa, etc., and comes to the conclusion that the 
whole race should be blotted out. On the other hand, diplo- 
mats tell of an urbane Sultan, suave viziers and courteous 
administrators. 

The Truth about the Turk. 

Travelers speak of hospitable sheiks and loyal servants 
and merchants who have suffered at the hands of shrewder 
Armenians and Greeks, laud the honesty and reliability of 
their Turkish correspondents. These latter claim that their 
personal observation is more to be relied upon than the state- 
ments of those who have suffered or those who they think 
have an interest in painting even the Devil blacker than he 
deserves. 

What is the truth about the Turk ? Are they fiends in- 
carnate or are they mild-mannered, kindly men ? It is given 
to no one man to be able to tell all the truth, or hold the 
balances with perfectly even hand, hence what is said here is 
offered not as dictum or as judgment, but simply as one 
man's contribution based upon many experiences and con- 
siderable reading. 

I have had Turkish landlords and Turkish neighbors, have 
enjoyed Turkish hospitality and traveled under Turkish pro- 
tection, and it is simple justice to say that I ask no more 
kindly, courteous treatment than I have had from all ; but, I 
have seen Turks left to starve by their own kin, I have heard 



Turkey and the Turks. 409 

from Turkish lips the foulest language that can come from a 
foul heart ; I have felt the weight of Turkish official false- 
hood, and the sting of Turkish contempt for the infidel, and 
have seen the effect of Turkish oppression. 

It must be recognized that there are many sides to Turkish 
character. Under ordinary circumstances the Turk of the 
inland village or town, and often the Turk of the city, mani- 
fests many of the nobler elements. He is affectionate in his 
family, dearly loving his children, and not infrequently his 
wife. He is fond of flowers, rejoices in beautiful scenery, is 
kind to animals, hospitable to guests, and for the most part 
lives on good terms with his neighbors of whatever race or 
creed. He is loyal to his religion, and his worship is by no 
means perfunctory. To him the one God is an intensely real 
Being, whose power is absolute, and to, disobey whom will 
bring swift and sure destruction. That power is not merely 
general, but personal, even to the minutest detail of life. 

A Rank Fatalist. 

Hence the unadulterated Turk is an absolute fatalist, who 
will take no medicine to cure disease, or flinch in the face of 
the most powerful foes. Hence, also, he is loyal to the 
Caliph as the civil head of the Moslem Church, and no ruler 
in the world can boast more faithful subjects than can the 
Sultan. In his bearing toward the subject races there is 
evident the haughtiness of a ruling class, a gracious accept- 
ance of their contributions to his welfare in the shape of taxes 
and general service, and a certain disdainful toleration for the 
tricks they practice in order to make up in this life for the 
misery they are to suffer in the life to come. 

When it comes to his personal welfare the Turk has com- 
paratively little ambition; what was good enough for his 
fathers is good enough for him ; why labor to secure more of 



410 T^lrkey and the Turks. 

comfort than God evidently intended ? Thus his great desire 
is " to make kef I' enjoy the present to the full, let the morrow 
take care of itself, and exert himself as little as may be. This 
is, however, not laziness, for whenever he undertakes anything 
he is energetic ; it is rather a form of fatalism, a sort of com- 
bination of the Stoic and the Epicurean. 

There are, however, other characteristics. In times of 
famine and distress he will put forth little or no effort to save 
his fellows. Suffering, whether of man or beast, he looks 
upon with calmness, almost with stolidity. He considers 
woman his slave, and has not the faintest regard for the honor 
of sex, except so far as it is necessary to preserve from taint 
his own family. 

Not from Principle. 

His truthfulness and honesty are purely a matter of natural 
dignity of character, and have no moral quality. Let there 
arise the feeling that his supremacy or the supremacy of his 
religion is in danger, and there are no excesses of deceit, 
murder, rapine or outrage to which he will not go. The 
excesses of the past year have been committed chiefly by the 
Kurds and the rabble such as is found in every nation, but 
regular soldiers and Turkish citizens have had no inconsider- 
able share in them. 

It is part of his creed that no faith be kept with an infidel ; 
and though under ordinary circumstances the native honesty 
of the race asserts itself against the creed, let the occasion 
arise and the creed becomes all-powerful law. Even loyalty 
to the Sultan depends upon the Sultan's loyalty to the creed, 
and if once the feeling arise that the Caliph is false to his 
trust, his deposition becomes most manifest duty, not only of 
the rabble, but of the best citizen. 

Official life seems to have in Turkey, even more than else- 



Turkey and the Turks. 411 

where, the effect of developing the worst characteristics of 
Turkish nature. The Turks themselves say that a Turk is a 
decent man until he becomes an official, and then he becomes 
a scamp. The Turkish Government is unquestionably the 
worst in the world. It is absolutely rotten with bribery, and 
knows nothing of justice. Not that Turkish officials are all 
thoroughly bad men. Such men as Fuad, Ali, Ahmet Vefyk 
and Kiamil Pashas would be an honor to any country ; and 
no one can have dealings with the Government without find- 
ing numerous individuals who preserve the better qualities of 
the Turkish character. 

In general, however, an honest official is unknown, and 
from the highest officers of the Porte to the most menial 
servitors in the provinces, the Government is administered in 
a shamelessly corrupt and outrageously>cruel manner. 

Power of the Peasantry. 

Much more might be said, but this will suffice to give a 
conception of both the strength and weakness of the Turkish 
Empire. Five million Turkish peasants, such as make up 
the bulk of the nation, are a power by no means to be 
despised. They have proved their power repeatedly in 
history, and to-day they are by far the most important ele- 
ment in the section described as Turkey proper. From 
Constantinople and Smyrna to the Euphrates, they are domi- 
nant, not only over Christians, but over other Moslems ; and 
east of the Euphrates, while fewer in numbers than the 
Kurds, their native force of character, not less than their 
possession of the reins of government, makes them the rulers. 

Stir their national pride and their religious fanaticism, and 
they evince a force before which Europe's best troops may 
well hesitate ; witness the valor at Plevna. When the whole 
history of that war is known, it is more than probable that 



412 Turkey and the Turks, 

Russian gold rather than Russian arms will be found to have 
opened the way from the Danube to San Stefano. 

What is to be the future of Turkey? Will the Sultan's 
rule continue, or will his Empire be apportioned among the 
Powers of Europe. Much will depend upon any agreement 
among those Powers, but no agreement will be carried out 
successfully which does not take into consideration the 
integrity of Turkey proper, both in its topography and in the 
national character of the ruling class to whom those who 
know them best feel like applying the words descriptive of 
the famous Scotch chieftain, 

" Ower gude for banning, ower bad for blessing." 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

The Turkish Government. 

The Government of Turkey under the supreme rule of the 
Sultan is composed of the Sublime Porte and the Council of 
State. Under these there is the administration of the depart-^ 
ments in the Central Government and of the provinces 
throughout the Empire. There is, however, an informal, yet 
none the less powerful element, known sometimes as the 
Privy Council, or the Palace Party. 

The Sublime Porte, which derives its name from the gate 
where the early Sultans held their audiences, and which enters 
the Seraglio grounds near the mosque of St Sophia, cor- 
responds very closely to the Cabinets of other countries. Its 
officers are the Grand Vizier, the Sheik-ul-Islam, the Min- 
isters of the Interior, of War, Evkaf, Public Instruction, 
Public Works, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Marine, Justice and 
the Civil List, and the President of the Council of State. 

The Grand Vizier receives his appointment immediately 
from the Sultan and makes up his own Cabinet, though with 
the Sultan's approval. He has no particular portfolio but 
presides over the general Government, and his word is ordi- 
narily all-powerful in any of the departments. The Sheik-ul- 
Islam also nominally receives his appointment direct from the 
Sultan, but in most cases is the choice of the Grand Vizier. 
He is not, as is so often supposed, the head of the Moslem 
religion, but is the representative in this Cabinet of the Ulema, 
the general body of teachers of Moslem law, having no very 
definite organization in themselves and yet exerting as a mass 
a very powerful influence over the Empire. 

413 



414 The Turkish Gover7i7ne7it. 

The Sheik-ul-Islam has comparatively little influence, 
except when there is a necessity for the interpretation of 
Moslem law in the conduct of the Government; then he 
becomes an important member. The most noted instances 
of this in late years have been in connection with the deposi- 
tion of Sultans Abdul Aziz or Murad. In those cases the 
Sheik-ul-Islam prepared the decree, or fetvah, which declared 
the Sultan unfit to rule, and authorized his deposition by the 
Cabinet. 

The other members of the Sublime Porte conduct their 
departments in much the same way as in other Governments. 
Two only require special mention : the Department of Public 
Instruction is most important, including as it does the Board 
of Censors, who have the right to pass upon the publication 
or importation of all literary matter, and can decree the sup- 
pression or confiscation of any newspaper or of any book 
which they think is derogatory to the interests of the Empire. 

A Peculiar Function of Government. 

The Department of Evkaf is peculiar to Turkish adminis- 
tration. It has to do with the care of the great amount of 
property vested in the mosques. Under Turkish law property 
which in other states would revert to the Government, reverts 
usually to the nearest mosque, and individuals, as an act of 
piety, frequently deed real estate or other property to the 
mosques, which thus have become immensely wealthy. This 
property may be purchased on condition of the payment 
of rent to the mosque or of an annuity to any persons 
specified in the deed by which the property is handed to the 
mosque. 

The income of this department has been somewhat reduced 
of late years by the seizure of a considerable portion of it by 
the Government. Under this same department comes also 



The Turkish Government. 415 

the care of the general expenses for Mohammedan worship, 

such as the pilgrimages to Mecca, the public reading of the 

Koran, etc. 

An Imposing Council. 

The Council of State is composed of a large number of 
prominent men, most of whom have at one time or another 
held office in the Cabinet. They are called together only on 
special occasions of difficulty requiring their consultation. 
Their President has his seat in the Cabinet. 

Closely connected with the Sultan himself is a sort of un- 
official Privy Council, composed of the various Palace officials, 
such as the Introducer of Ambassadors, the Private Secretary, 
and such members of the Council of State, or perhaps of the 
Cabinet, as are in particular favor with the Sultan, or upon 
whose advice and information he relies particularly. Not 
formally connected with these, and yet at 'different times ex- 
erting considerable influence, are various ecclesiastics, or 
dervishes, who gather from different parts of the Empire, and 
who represent before the Sultan his widely extended Moslem 
constituency. 

Usually these are men of great shrewdness, and sometimes 
they have exerted almost boundless influence over the Sultan. 
In previous reigns the chief Eunuch of the palace and also the 
Queen Mother have exercised great power ; but that has not 
been characteristic of the present reign. 

The judicial system of the Turkish Government is complex. 
During the present century the Napoleon code has been 
introduced and made the basis of a system of courts very sim- 
ilar to those of European countries. The original Moslem 
courts, however, presided over by the cadis, have not entirely 
disappeared, especially in the provinces ; and the administra- 
tion of justice is often a strange combination of the two 
systems. 



416 The Turkish Government, 

For administrative purposes the Empire is divided into 
vilayets, these again into mustessaiifliks and kaimakamliks, 
and these again into mudirhks. The two highest grades are 
governed by pashas appointed in Constantinople ; the third 
grade, or kaimakam, receives his appointment ordinarily from 
Constantinople, but sometimes from the provincial superiors. 
The mudirs are almost invariably local magistrates. Asso- 
ciated with each one of these officials is a council, or mejliss, 
including prominent Turks and the heads of the various 
Christian communities. They have no official authority ; ten- 
der their advice when it is desired to the Governor, and con- 
sult in general in regard to the interests of the communities. 

The income of the Government is derived from customs 
dues ; from tithes levied upon all agricultural produce ; from 
the sale of certain articles, as salt, which are Government 
monopolies, and from imposts on pretty nearly everything, 
and from the capitation and exemption taxes levied upon the 
Christian subjects. The tithes are generally farmed out, and 
this gives occasion for the greatest amount of oppression. 

Taxes and Slow Payments. 

There is no regular system of collection, and when the 
treasury runs low the Government sends out a requisition to 
the interior provinces. The money is then collected in what- 
ever way is feasible. There is no regularity in the payment 
of salaries. The Government is notoriously in arrears in 
regard to the payment of employes, being sometimes months, 
and even years, behind. The statement that a month's salary 
is to be paid becomes a matter of comment in the public 
press and of general congratulation. 

The result is widespread corruption in all departments. 
The absence of salaries is made up for by the collection of 
fees ; and every official, from the lowest to the highest. 



The Turkish Government. 417 

through whose hands any money passes, is sure to keep as 
much of it as he thinks he can without incurring too severe 
wrath from his superior. 

Over this whole administration presides the Sultan himself. 
His word is supreme in each department, and he can and fre- 
quently does override the decisions of his Ministers. More 
than almost any of his predecessors in the line of Ottoman 
Sultans, Abdul Hamid II. takes personal cognizance of the 
most minute details of his Government. The interests not 
only of his Palace and his capital, but of the most remote pro- 
vinces, come under his eye. His industry is proverbial, and 
to his ability all who know him personally bear cordial witness. 

He is, however, by no means the absolute autocrat that he 
appears. He realizes very clearly his position between two 
contradictory and mutually repellant forces, the progress of 
the West and the conservatism of the East. If he antago- 
nizes the former too much, he runs the risk of losing his 
Empire ; if he fails to keep in sympathy with the latter, his 
Caliphate is endangered. His position is one by no means to 
be envied, and no judgment of him can be just which does not 
take into account the peculiarities of that position. 
27 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Relief for Suffering Armenia. 

WORK OF MISS CLARA BARTON AND DR. GRACE E. KIMBALL. 

From a reliable source, under date of February 15, 1896, we 
have the following statement concerning the needs of Armenia 
and the efforts for relief: 

Despite the efforts of the Government to conceal the true 
situation of affairs in Armenia, the facts are coming to light, 
and they are sufficiently appalling to make the civilized world 
shudder with apprehension as to what may follow. All that 
has been accomplished in the way of reducing the native 
Christian population by the recent massacres will prove 
insignificant in comparison with the overwhelming " reduc- 
tion " that is now going on in the 2500 villages of Anatolia 
(the official designation of Armenia). 

Not the sword, the rifle, or the torch could ever have done 
a twentieth part of the havoc among these wretched people 
that is now being done by exhausted nature. Cholera, cold 
and hunger are the new and formidable allies of the Sultan in 
his war of extermination, and the wolves of starvation are 
stalking up and down the valleys and plains of Asia Minor, 
claiming thousands of unresisting victims. 

Although we still almost daily hear news of slaughter and 
plunder, these reports, in the main, relate to events which 
occurred before the beginning of the present year. There 
have been no massacres since 1896 began, and very few dis- 
turbances of any considerable extent in the last two months. 

But railroad and telegraphic communication in Asiatic 
418 



Relief for Suffering Armenia, 419 

Turkey is extremely limited, and there are hundreds of small, 
isolated towns and villages which were almost obliterated 
during tlie great Kurdish and Circassian raids of October and 
November, from which the news of their calamities is only 
now coming in ; and there are others whose fate may not be 
known for weeks to come. 

A sudden night rush of Kurdish horsemen, doors burst 
open, furious volleys fired upon the affrighted inmates, those 
who came out shot down, and the raided buildings looted and 
left a heap of smoking ruins — such has been the fate of hun- 
dreds of Armenian villages whose sites are now as bare as a 
desert. It has only been by precipitate flight that the multi- 
tudes of refugees who are now wandering among the 
Armenian wilds saved their lives. Wherever a courageous 
defense was made against the Kurdish and Lazo troopers the 
overwhelming force of the assailants only made the fate of the 
defenders the more terrible. 

Days of Blood. 

All the world now knows the story of those dreadful 
October and November days of blood ; but it does not know 
yet that the last state of the survivors is worse than the first. 
Between 400,000 and 500,000 Armenian Christians are to-day 
homeless vagrants, weak and emaciated from their long fight 
against famine. 

From Sassoun to the Persian border, and from Trebizond 
to Mesopotamia this is the situation. They have flocked to 
all the cities — Van, Trebizond, Erzeroum, Sevas, Diarbekir, 
Harpoot, Adana, Aleppo, Mardin, Aintab — and they are still 
coming. From caves and rude huts in the snow-covered 
hills; from rocky hiding places in the valleys, where they 
have lived on berries and leaves until the snow and frost de- 
prived them even of such wretched food ; from the desolated 



420 ReLef for Suffering Arnienia. 

villages, the ruined farms and the plundered homesteads they 
are coming, because in the cities they at least hope to be 
helped, even if it be only to a morsel of bread. 

Gaunt men and lads, feeble girls, tottering mothers with 
wan-faced babes, that seem ready to breathe out their puny 
lives — they are coming. Van alone has nearly 20,000 of 
these refugees, and the other cities in proportion. A multi- 
tude have crossed the Persian frontier at Khoi, and many have 
reached Salmas and the neighboring towns, and even Urumia. 

The cities of Armenia, having been already raided and 
plundered, are in no condition to help the horde of new 
arrivals. There is no food, shelter or clothing for them, and 
they wander aimlessly about the streets or congregate in 
crowds wherever there is a prospect of charity being doled 
out to them. 

In a few places the Government is ostentatiously supplying 
rations to the starving, the ration consisting of a half pound 
of bread daily for each adult. Hunger and the train of 
diseases that follow it af-e mowing them down daily in increas- 
ing numbers. 

It is now generally accepted as a fact that the Porte does 
not wish to interfere between these pitiable creatures and 
their impending fate. Europe is excited when a i^w thousand 
Christians are murdered, but the programme of starvation 
can be carried out without danger of interference, as no 
Government will lay at the door of Turkey the responsibilitv 
for the mortality from such a cause. 

Brave Men and Women. 

Meanwhile, a mere handful of brave men and women are 
standing between the destitute Armenians and death. They 
are the missionaries of the American Board, and thus far not 
a man or woman among them has left their post of duty for 



Relief for Suffering Armenia. 421 

the purpose of assuring personal safety. They have inter- 
posed between the raised yataghan and its victim so often 
that the presence of death has become familiar. At Harpoot 
the bullets swept through the corridors of the American mis- 
sion, but the missionaries .escaped unhurt. In this spirit the 
faithful little band has carried on such a relief work as has 
probably never before been attempted in the history of 
Christian missions. 

Courage of our Missionaries. 

All the other missionaries having been temporarily with- 
drawn, it has fallen to the lot of the American workers to dis- 
tribute the funds collected both in England and the United 
States, including a very large part of the English contributions 
known as the "Duke of Westminster^ Fund," and also the 
fund raised by Dr. Louis Klopsch through his journal, The 
Christian Herald, of New York. The Westminster Fund was 
mainly expended in feeding and clothing the survivors in the 
districts affected by the Sassoun and Talvoreeg massacres. 

When the Turks found that they could not control the 
relief funds they made g. stubborn attempt to stop the work 
of relief altogether ; but the American missionaries, by sheer 
pluck and persistence, carried their point, and were permitted 
to remain in the field. Not a hair of their heads has been 
injured, though they have passed through massacre and fire. 

'' We looked death in the face, and it seemed sweet to us/' 
said Dr. Barnum, of Ilarpoot, telling of the time when the 
mission house was blazing and slaughter raged on the streets. 
" I count it the crowning glory of my life to have been per- 
mitted to be here at that time," wrote Mrs. Montgomery, from 
Adana, where she faced death in front of her class of girls. 
Of such heroic stuff were the men and women .made who 
declared that with God's help and the sympathy of His 



422 Relief f 07' Suffering Arme^iia. 

people, the Armenians should not be exterminated by starva- 
tion as Turkey had fully intended. With the small sums at 
their disposal they began to help the neediest in their imme- 
diate neighborhoods. 

Relief Work at Van. 

Relief stations were opened at Bitlis and Van. In the 
latter city Dr. Grace N. Kimball, an American medical mis- 
sionary, began an industrial work for the purpose of giving 
employment to as many of the destitute as possible, in the 
manufacture of cotton goods. When her work languished 
for lack of funds. Dr. Klopsch sent forward liberal remit- 
tances, aggregating ;^ 15^00, to Van, with the result that Dr. 
Kimball was able to save many lives. Hundreds of families 
were employed in her Industrial Bureau, and to those for 
whom work could not be obtained she gave food in sufficient 
quantities to keep them from starvation, and clothing where 
it was necessary. 

The Van Relief Bureau also supplied medicine to the sick. 
According to recent letters from Dr. Kimball, the Industrial 
Bureau employs 981 persons, representing over 950 families, by 
whose labor 4750 persons are supported. They are spinners 
and weavers, carders, spindle-fillers, knitters and sewers ; and 
the manufactures are coarse cotton cloth, woolen goods, car- 
pets, stout jackets, socks and bedding. The product of the 
bureau is sold in different parts of the country, a considerable 
amount being sent to the Sassoun Relief Commission. At- 
tached to the Relief Bureau is a bakery, where free bread is 
supplied to 2500 persons, the allowance per capita being one 
and one-half pounds per day. 

While the conduct of all the missionaries has been brave 
and self-denying, there is an especial halo of romance about 
the relief work at Van. This district is considered by many 



Relief for Suffering Armenia. 423 

eminent scholars to be the site of the ancient Eden, the lost 
Garden of man's happiness; but to-day the province is a ver- 
itable desert, and presents the appearance of havmg been 
swept by a cyclone of destruction. The descent of the fugi- 
tive villagers upon Van was so sudden and overwhelming as 
to cause stout hearts to quail, but Grace Kimball, who has 
proved herself to be a heroine, rose to the emergency. 

This brave woman, despite official threats and warnings, 
went out among the fugitives in the streets, comforted and 
encouraged them, gave them bread with her own hands while 
they were pulling at her garments and kissing her hands and 
feet in gratitude. She ministered to the sick, and, cheered by 
her example her missionary associates took heart of Grace 
and joined in the work. 

Those Armenian "Dpgs." 
Again and again the Turkish Pashas and Valis insisted that 
the relief be stopped; the Armenians were "dogs;" "better 
let them die ; " but the greater the opposition the higher rose 
the courage of the American girl. 

Her first step was to hire a small bakery with her own per- 
sonal funds; then a small remittance came, and a second 
bakery was added to the facilities, and on New Years Day, 
iust when the work seemed about to drop, she received he 
first remittance of ^5000 from Dr. Klopsch, who also cabled 
that sufficient funds would be supplied to meet all the necessi- 
ties of the work. One can imagine the spirit of joy and 
gratitude in which she wrote a week later: "How sorely we 
needed the money! Perhaps you may be able to dimly 
imagine what a tremendous relief w^ experienced when your 
telegram came on New Year's Day. Many and many a poor 
villager has said to me: ' You have saved this province from 
a terrible famine.' The praise belongs, not to me, but to the 



424 Relief for Suffering Armenia. 

generous men and women in America who have opened their 
hearts and purses. 

" We are, indeed, the only hope of this people for the 

Winter." 

Feeding the Hungry. 

After a while the Turkish efforts to stop the work were 
relaxed. A very large bakery was hired, and now Dr. Kim- 
ball is fairly able to cope with the demand for bread, at last. 
As far as known there have been no deaths from actual star- 
vation within the gates of Van. 

All the stations, with a single exception, are conducted by 
missionaries of the American Board, Urumia alone being 
managed by a missionary of the Presbyterian Board. Thou- 
sands of Armenian fugitives have arrived there destitute. All 
the missionaries have sent in reports of the progress of their 
work from time to time, through the missionary boards, and 
congratulate the people of America upon the fact that they 
are able, by these generous means, to save thousands of lives ; 
for had it not been for American relief the Winter death-roll 
in Armenia from hunger and cold would have been quite as 
appalling as that of the massacres. 

That this may be better understood it should be stated that 
Turkish estimates of the situation in Armenia give the follow- 
ing figures : 

Number of Armenian villages ..... 3,300 

Number of villages destroyed 2,500 

Number reduced to starvation in villages . 366,000 
Number reduced to starvation in the towns 75,000 

In other words, a total of nearly 450,000 souls are in 
imminent danger of starvation, and apparently have been 
deliberately placed in that perilous position by the Turkish 
Government, in furtherance of its policy of extermination. 



Relief for Suffering Ainneiiia. • 425 

There are serious difficulties to contend with in the man- 
agement of the rehef work at every point. Harpoot, for 
instance, is a city surrounded by several hundred small vil- 
lages. The town itself has been wasted by the Kurds, and 
the Armenia population reduced almost to beggary ; but the 
villagers have met a severer fate, a large proportion of them 
having been literally wiped out of existence. Such of the 
survivors as can reach Harpoot have gone there in the hope 
of being fed, but the missionaries have to reach out in every 
direction in order to succor those who still linger about the 
ruins of their desolated homes. This description applies to 
all the cities and their surroundings. 

There are hundreds of villages that will not be reached by 
the present relief movement, and in these the mortality must 
necessarily be something frightful, for the Armenian Winter 
is usually severe, and cold and exposure must already have 
done their fatal work among the women and children. When 
the Winter death-roll from these causes is approximately 
ascertained it will be found to be appalling. 

Places of Greatest Destitution. 

The centers of greatest destitution at the present time are 
undoubtedly these four : Harpoot, where the slaughter and 
destruction have been greatly under-estimated ; Malatia, where 
3000 are said to have perished ; Van, which is a focus for 
fugitives from everywhere, and Diarbekir. These cities alone, 
with their surrounding villages, could readily absorb a relief 
fund of a million dollars, and the amount of money thus far 
raised has produced hardly any perceptible alleviation outside 
of a very limited radius. 

The National Red Cross Association of America has 
decided to send its agents to relieve the suffering Armenians, 
if the country will support the agents with money and sup- 



426 Relief for Suffering Armenia. 

plies. Miss Clara Barton, who is the Red Cross Society her- 
self, as public opinion goes, is willing to lead the company — a 
woman now sixty-five years old, who for thirty years has been 
in the midst of death and suffering, by battle, flood, earth- 
quakes, fire and cyclone, hastening to carry aid whenever the 
call has come. Most people know of Clara Barton and her 
life and that the Red Cross is the symbol of charity, noble 
sacrifice and blessing wherever men are suffering. There is 
stirring romance in the history of the Red Cross, the emblem 
of the Crusaders, of the Knights of Malta, who fought for 
their faith, and risked life for sentiment. 

Within recent years the Red Cross has come to bear a 
broader significance, since the time thirty years ago, when, at 
a congress of nations in Geneva, it was made international 
law that the Red Cross should bejthe badge of neutrality on 
every battlefield, and that only the Red Cross would be thus 
respected. 

The Red Cross. 

Already there were organizations through Europe whose 
purpose was to furnish medical aid on the battlefield, to rein- 
force the insufilicient equipment of the military service. Some 
of them were very powerful, but after the Geneva conference 
of 1864 such bodies in all countries were known as the Red 
Cross, although still retaining their independent titles and 
organizations. Since 1864 the Red Cross has gleamed like a 
star of hope on the battle-field of every important conflict in 
Europe, and for the last fourteen years upon the scene of 
every great catastrophe to mankind in America. 

Miss Barton held a position in the Patent Office at Wash- 
ington at the opening of the war. Her brother was captured, 
and she determined to go South and make an effort to liberate 
him. Just before the battle of Bull Run she advertised in the 
Worcester, Mass., papers that she would receive stores and 



Relief for Suffering Armenia. 427 

money for the wounded soldiers at the front, which she would 
personally distribute. The appeal was so liberally answered 
that she filled a building in Washington. Miss Barton went 
to the front, and after the death of her brother continued to 
nurse and relieve suffering until nearly the end of the war. 

Her work was independent of the Sanitary and Christian 
Commissions. On returning to Washington she petitioned 
Congress for g 15,000 in " payment for her services in endea- 
voring to discover missing soldiers of the Army of tne United 
States and in communicating intelligenee to their relatives. 
A bill was finally passed giving her gi 5,000 for expenses 
already incurred and for services to be rendered, the appro- 
priation having reference to herproposed search forthe graves 
of soldiers, unknown, missing and unrecorded. 

Miss Olara Barton.. 

The path to this work opened for Miss Barton through the 
records kept by Dorrance Atwater, a Connecticut boy in 
prison at AndersonviUe. He had been detailed to keep for 
the prison authorities a record of the dead and their burial. 
Thinking that the folks at home would like to know he pre- 
served on rags and bits of paper a duplicate set of records 
with the graves indicated on a plot of the burymg-ground 
After the war Miss Barton secured these Usts of 15,000 names, 
and together they had thousands of graves marked with head- 
boards at AndersonviUe and elsewhere. 

In 1 869, nearing her fortieth year, Miss Barton went abroad 
for necessary rest and recuperation. The next year the 
Franco-Prussian War broke out, and Miss Barton sought the 
battlefields and did effective work among the wounded, 
especially at Strasburg. From Strasburg she went to relieve 
the suffering after the fall of the Commune, in Pans. Her 
services won her the Prussian Order of Merit, gave her 



428 Relief for Suffering Armenia. 

acquaintance with the workings of the Red Cross agencies in 
Switzerland and Germany, and brought her under the notice 
of the head of the latter society, the Empress Augusta. 

The Gifts of Nations. 

As a result of this and other visits and services Miss Barton 
has received a jewel gift from the Grand Duchess of Baden, 
the jewel of the American Red Cross, the Servian decoration 
of the Red Cross, presented by Queen Natalie ; the Gold 
Cross of Remembrance, from the Duke of Baden ; and Red 
Cross medal from the Queen of Italy; and an English deco- 
ration, pinned on by the hand of Queen Victoria. When all 
was over Miss Barton returned from Europe to find that, 
while she had won fame abroad, her work was almost wholly 
unknown here. F'or four years Miss Barton worked to have 
the United States Government sign the International Red 
Cross Convention. In 1881 Congress passed the needed 
legislation, and the American Association of the Red Cross 
was formed. Miss Barton was subsequently elected presi- 
dent. 

The first field work of the society was done in 1882, when 
the Mississippi overflowed. Miss Barton started for the scene 
with a meager fund, but aid soon poured in and more 
resources were supplied than were needed, so that a surplus 
was put by for the next great disaster. In the next year the 
Ohio floods and the Louisiana cyclone, and in the following 
year Mississippi and Ohio floods again called out the Red 
Cross workers. 

In 1884, the Government having appropriated ;^3000 for the 
purpose, Miss Barton went abroad with two other delegates 
to represent the American Red Cross at the International 
Convention, at Geneva. In 1886 the drought in Texas and 
the Charleston earthquake sent the Red Cross agents hurry- 



Relief for Suffering Armenia. 429 

ing to the scenes of suffering and death. In 1887 Miss Barton 
again represented the United States Government at the court 
of the Grand Duke of Baden, and in the same year she 
reheved the sufferers from the Mt. Vernon cyclone. 

In the Johnstown disaster Miss Barton was in the field, and 
the distribution of clothing was under the personal super- 
vision of the National Red Cross headquarters. The society 
expended ;^40,ooo at Johnstown. 

Judicious Distributions. 

The Sea Island hurricanes gave the last occasion to the 
Red Cross for taking the field. Tide and flood combined to 
strip the low-lying Carolina Islands coast of almost every 
inhabitant, to destroy crops and homes, and to destroy hun- 
dreds of people. It was estimated that 30,000 were in need 
of food. The colossal work of feeding this population was 
undertaken a month after the disaster by the Red Cross So- 
ciety, under Miss Barton. Within three months the society 
received nearly ^30,000. Rations and lumber were given out, 
men paid in rations to rebuild ruined houses, and the district 
made self-supporting as far as possible. The work of relief 
was, on the whole, well done, although it met criticisms. The 
aggregate amount distributed was not large, and the rations 
small. But a little goes a long way in the simple life of a 
negro population, living on fish and crops of their own 
raising. 

The associate society of the Red Cross of Philadelphia, of 
which Dr. Pancoast is President, was the first organized body 
in the field at Johnstown, Thirty hours from the first call to 
action, supplies for almost any possible emergency, with food, 
clothing, medicine and a completely appointed hospital camp- 
ing equipage and field corps departed for the field. This 
relief corps had at one time three hospitals in operation. 



430 Relief for Suffering Armenia, 

The Red Cross of Geneva. 

For thirteen years since the United States signed the 
Geneva Convention, the Red Cross Association of this coun- 
try has been known chiefly, we might say, through Miss 
Clara Barton. 

The Civil War had seen such aid to the wounded as the 
world had never witnessed. The gathering at Geneva was in 
part due to this demonstration of what could be done by 
private effort supplementing insufflcient military provision in 
war. The Geneva Cross, long familiar as a badge of aid and 
mercy among Hospitallers and Knights of Malta, had been 
used as a hospital signal in the Civil War. The Geneva Con- 
vention of 1864 really did little more than recognize and 
embody in the law of nations the ameliorations of the horrors 
of war, which American experience had shown possible. 

Miss Clara Barton and four members of her staff sailed from 
New York on January 22d, 1896, for England, intending to 
visit the international committees and do their best to secure 
entrance into Turkey. Just after they sailed word was 
received from Constantinople through Minister Terrell to the 
effect that ^liss Barton would be allowed entrance herself, and 
that any persons whom she might designate to undertake 
relief work would be permitted to do so by the Turkish 
Government, although they were not willing for the Red 
Cross as a distinct organization to take general charge of 
relief Upon arriving at Constantinople Miss Barton immedi- 
ately began her work of relief. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Cause and Extent of the Recent Atrocities. 

BY THE REV. FREDERICK DAVIS GREENE, M. A., 
Recently of the City of Van, Ar7ne7iia. 

It is not possible, in the brief limits of this article, to treat 
the Turkish massacres except in bare outline and on general 
principles. They have been so numerous and so vast that 
many volumes could be filled with their details. But it is 
doubtful if any good purpose would be served by the recital 
of such a mass of horrors. They would soon cease to be 
horrors. One of the most deplorable results of the recent 
Armenian atrocities is the evident and growing callousness in 
regard to them, on the part of nations and individuals who 
have been supposed to be Christian, or at least civilized. 
Perhaps we would be nearer the truth in considering this 
callousness a revelation of the real character of the times, 
rather than a result of listening to crimes committed by 
others. This raises again the ominous question whether 
civilization is necessarily progress, and whether the Chris- 
tianity of to-day is Christian. 

In spite of all that has been written and said on the subject, 
there are many who find it hard to comprehend the awful 
character and extent of the massacres of Turkey. They are 
such an anachronism, so foreign to the spirit of the age, as to 
seem unreal — in fact, impossible under any European Govern- 
ment. But it must be remembered that Turkey herself is an 
anachronism, and that she is not simply foreign, but hostile to 
the spirit of the age. This fact is continually obscured by the 

431 



432 Cause and Extent of Recent Atrocities, 

diplomats of Europe and America, who persist in treating 
Turkey as if she belonged to the family of civilized nations. 
The case is analogous to that of a man who, for political or 
business reasons, sees fit to take a thief into partnership, or to 
allow a libertine to marry his daughter. As partner or 
son-in-law, of course, the man has rights ; the mistake con- 
sists in giving him that status. 

The Koran Sanctions Massacre. 

In the politico-religious organization which is called the 
Ottoman Empire, massacre is considered a legitimate, neces- 
sary and very useful method of administering the country. It 
is sanctioned by the Koran, which is the foundation, and in 
fact the constitution of the State, is advocated by Moham- 
medan clergy and teachers, and is executed under the direc- 
tion of the military and civil authorities, who are duly 
rewarded and honored by the Sultan. 

The Armenian massacres that have shocked the world, so far 
from being exceptional, are, therefore, exactly in harmony with 
Turkish theory and justified by abundant precedent. They 
were to have been expected. One might almost calculate the 
law of massacre in Turkey. It recurs with the regularity of 
a baleful comet, which seems to spring out of nothingness, 
but which has a fixed orbit and is impelled by a mighty 
power. Counting only the Turkish massacres in which ten 
thousand or more perished, we find that in the past seventy- 
five years there have been five, recurring at intervals of about 
fifteen years. 

These outbreaks were in widely separated localities, and 
the victims, belonging to five distinct races, aggregate one 
hundred and twenty thousand. These figures do not include 
foreign enemies or rebellious subjects of the Sultan, resisting 
with arms in their hands. They were all helpless inhabitants 



Cause and Extent of Recent Atrocities. 433 

of the land, of both sexes and of all ages, and by a curious 
coincidence were in each case non-Mohammedan. 

Turkey's Massacre Account, as given in TJie Arme7iian 
Crisis, page 96, where the authorities are quoted, stands about 
as follows : 



22 



Greeks, especially in the island of Scio 50,000 

1850. Nestorians and Armenians, Kurdistan 10,000 

i860. Maronites and Syrians, Lebanon and Damascus.... 11,000 

1876. Bulgarians, European Turkey .....10,000 

i894-'95. Armenians, Asiatic Turkey 40,000 

Total 121,000 

In addition to the above, there were smaller massacres of 
Cretans in 1866, of Armenians in 1877, and of Yezidees in 
Mesopotamia in 1892. It thus appears that seven distinct 
Christian races in Turkey, besides the Yezidees, who are also 
non-Mohammedan, have in turn been visited with this awful 
experience. Turkish statesmen, like the Oriental doctors 
generally, have great faith in blood-letting as a remedy for 
the diseases of the State. They do not trouble themselves to 
diagnose the case, much less to prepare medicine to correct 
the system. It is sufficient to know that there is a fever of 
some kind, and that loss of blood will reduce the temperature. 

Death to " Infidels." 

The immediate occasion of all these massacres has been 
political ; but this should not obscure the permanent under- 
lying cause, which is always religious. Why are these 
Christian races successively attacked and prostrated? Because 
they, in turn, have felt the stimulating influences of a higher 
civilization and ideal, and have begun to show signs of life 
and progress. Why cannot this be allowed to go on ? 

Because no giaour, or "infidel," has a right to live in a 
28 



434 Ca7cse a?id Extent of Recent Atrocities, 

Mohammedan state except in subjection— subjection which 
means not simply submission, but distinct inequalio^ and 
humiliation. In the Koran. Sura ix, it is wiitten : 

'* Fight against those who believe not . . . until, (i- 
they pay tribute, (2) admitting subjection, and until (3) they 
be brought low!' 

This is a standing declaration of war against all Christian 
nations, the carr\-ing out of v/hich is limited only by abilit>\ 

An Infaraous Prayer. 

The statement is frequently made, and on high authority, 
that *^the present Sultan is scrupulously faithful to the re- 
quirements of his religion." \Miile this sincerit}^ and zeal 
are to his credit, as a follower of the Prophet, they absolutely 
disqualify him as a just and humane ruler of millions of 
Christians. Let us see what his religion requires of him. 
An official prayer of Islam which is used throughout Turkey, 
and daily repeated in the Cairo '' Azhar '^ Universit}^ by ten 
thousand Mohammedan students from all lands, is as follows : 

*' I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed. In 
the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful ! O Lord 
of all Creatures ! O Allah I Destroy the infidels and poly- 
theists, thine enemies, the enemies of the religion! O Allah I 
Make their children orphans, and defile their abodes I Cause 
their feet to slip ; give them and their families, their house- 
holds and their women, their children and their relations by 
marriage, their brothers and their friends, their possessions 
and their race, their wealth and their lands, as booty to the 
Moslems, O Lord of all Creatures !" 

According to this prayer, which is translated directly from 
the Arabic, to kill, to plunder and to defile the Christians are 
not only legitimate, but obligator}^ The late massacres are 
a fulfillment of this prayer, which the " Faithful " have them- 



Cause and Extent of Recent Atrocities. 435 

selves executed The most terrible commentary' upon the 
moral influence of the Mohammedan religion is the com- 
placency with which even educated and intelligent Moslems 
regard these awful and revolting deeds. As soon as the 
Armenian massacres were an assured success, the Sultan 
himself is reported to have become good-humored, and to 
have lost the anxious look which he had worn for months. 
This was due, no doubt, as much to his having scored a dip- 
lomatic and pohtical triumph, as to the approval of a good 
conscience. 

The Animus of the Atrocities. 

" But how/' it may be asked, ** can the successful execution 
of these massacres be considered a diplomatic triumph?" 
The triumph consists in this, that by disposing of so lai^ 
a proportion of the Armenians, the Sultan has at the same 
time disposed of the hated Scheme of Reforms, which he 
had been forced by Europe nominally to accept These 
reforms, though partial in appUcation. involved, in prin- 
ciple, the ciWl equaKt>' of Christian and [Moslem, and this, 
fi-om the Turkish standpoint, would imperil the foundation of 
the State. The mere asking of such reforms and the intrust- 
ing their execution to the Turks, was a stultification on the 
part of the diplomats who demanded them ; for it does not he 
within the power of Abdul Hamid, as the Caliph of Islam 
and the successor of the Prophet, to grant them. 

B)' insisting that the Armenians should have a proportion- 
ate representation in the administration of certain provinces, 
the Powers placed a price on the head of everj' Armenian. 
By failing to protect them in this critical position with a 
prompt and decisive use of force, they are guilty of a share in 
their destruction. The ** Powers," impotent for good, while 
masquerading in the livery of Christian it}% ha\'e proved its 



436 Cause and Extent of Recent Atrocities, 

worst enemies. But for their assurances the Christians would 
not have shown the restiveness and expectanc}', which by- 
rousing the apprehension of the Moslems, hastened and 
intensified their vengeance. 

The Powers have not only failed disastrously in their efforts 
to help the Armenians, but they have closed the doors against 
such efforts in their behalf in the future. The remedy, owing 
to the bungling method of application, has been far worse 
than the disease, and is not likely to be soon tried again. The 
hope of bringing about just this result encouraged the Turk- 
ish Government to do its worst. The late massacres are not 
unlike the tantrums into which an ill-trained child deliberately 
throws itself in order to gain its ends when disciplined by 
parents who are not united, wise and firm. 

The Knot is Cut by the Sword. 

Such considerations as the above, both political and relig- 
ious, have governed the Palace and the Porte in returning to 
massacre as a method of settling the diplomatic tangle and the 
reform question at the same time. But lower and more per- 
sonal motives inspired the blind tools of the Government hy 
whose hands the outrages were committed — namely, the 
Turkish soldier}^ and populace and the Kurds and Circas- 
sians. Plunder was the chief motive with the latter classes, 
who swept over the countrv' like a swarm of locusts, every- 
where declaring that they had received authorization for their 
raids. Kurds seldom kill, except when resisted and to strike 
terror. 

The Turks, however, while outstripping the Kurds, even as 
plunderers, devoted special attention to killing, and that, too, 
in most cruel and revolting forms. The Kurd, though ruder, 
is by nature more noble than the Turk. The Turk has sensual 
and truculent possibilities that have never been equaled by 



Cause and Extent of Recent Atrocities, 437 

any other race. These quahties, under ordinary conditions, 
are latent, and are often most subtly concealed by the Turk, 
even at the very moment when they are in active operation. 
While the soldiers were laboriously butchering a thousand 
helpless Armenians, entrapped in the great church at Urfa, 
on December 28th last, their officers found time to make gal- 
lant calls on Miss Shattuck, the only foreigner in the citj^ 
and to calmly assure her that there was no cause for alarm. 

It is this dignified and self-possessed manner of the Turk, 
which he can always command, that has so often charmed and 
deceived Europeans, who have had only a brief and superficial 
viev/ of him in Constantinople drawing-rooms. The Turk can 
also pass in an instant to an air of brutal ferocit}^ and appar- 
ently uncontrollable passion, if the circumstances justify it 
and make it safe. 

They Are Martyrs. 

The question may arise in the minds of some, whether, 
inasmuch as these massacres w^ere perpetrated for political 
reasons largely, and for plunder, the victims can rightly be 
considered martyrs. The answer is, in general. Yes ; for the 
crime of the Armenians is, after all, that they are Christians, 
and a change of faith would have saved them. There are 
many authenticated cases of deliberate martyrdom inflicted 
publicly, after repeated demands to deny Christ had been 
rejected. 

Another question is, whether Mohammedanism can be held 
responsible for these massacres and outrages. The answer is, 
again, in general. Yes, as has been already shown. Even the 
cruel and lustful accompaniments of the outrages are trace- 
able to the religion of the Prophet, which, like an intoxicant, 
turns loose the basest passions of our nature. 

The statistics of the recent outrages will never be accur- 



438 Cause and Extent of Recent Atrocities, 

ately known, but the most careful figures thus far received, 
though partial, are as follows : In the table below, the first 
numbers given refer to the six provinces to which the Scheme 
of Reforms applied, namely, Erzrtim, Sivas, Harput, Diarbe- 
kir, Bitlis and Van, and the second number to the outside 
adjoining provinces of Trebizond, Angora, Adana and Aleppo. 

Total population of the six provinces 3,509,800 

Total population of the four provinces 2,388,500 

Total 5,898,300 

Armenians in the six provinces 827,600 

Armenians in the four provinces 264,400 

Total 1,092,000 

Houses and shops plundered in the six provinces . . 43,769 
Houses and shops plundered in the four provinces . . 3,247 

Total 47,016 

Houses and shops burned in the six provinces . . . 11,812 
Houses and shops burned in the four provinces ... 815 

Total 12,627 

Number killed in the six provinces 29,107 

Number killed in the four provinces 7,668 

Total 36,775 

Number forced to accept Islam in the six provinces . 36,300 
Number forced to accept Islam in the four provinces . 4,650 

Total 40,950 

Number left entirely destitute in the six provinces . . 247,300 
Number left entirely destitute in the four provinces . . 43,000 

Total 290,300 

It thus appears that about nine-tenths of the outrages 
occurred within the six provinces to which the Reform Scheme 
applied. The Sultan professed to accept the reforms on Oc- 
tober 1 6th, 1895, and the above figures show with what 



Cause and Extent of Recent Atrocities. 439 

energy, zeal and good faith he carried them out ; for most of 
the work was done within one month of that date. There 
can be no doubt that the Sultan deserves credit for these 
" reforms," for he claims it himself, assuring Lord Salisbury, 
in a letter made public at his request, that they were being 
executed under his personal direction. Kurds and soldiers 
have constantly declared that they were simply obeying the 
Sultan's orders, and that this was the case is clear from the 
fact that no one has been punished for disobedience, not even 
the officials in whose presence the American colony at Har- 
put was bombarded, plundered and burnt out of home four 
months ago. It has repeatedly been proved that these out- 
breaks were carefully prearranged by disarming Christians, 
and by prescribing limits as to place, time, duration and 
method of execution. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

To the Rescue. 

BY THE REV. EDWARD G. PORTER. 

The Armenian relief movement began more than five hun- 
dred years ago, in the reign of Edward III., when three 
Armenian refugees found their way to England and obtained 
an audience of the King at Reading. They brought tidings 
of a fearful massacre by the Ottoman Turks, who had over- 
run Armenia and compelled great numbers of the inhabitants 
to submit to the dread alternative of Islam or the sword. The 
strangers obtained generous aid from the King and people of 
England, and went back to the East loaded with gifts for the 
sufferers. 

From that day to this, at certain intervals, the Turk has 
been guilty of the same atrocious deeds. Five hundred years 
have taught him nothing. He is still slaying his victims by 
the thousand, and leaving the survivors to perish from cold, 
nakedness and hunger. The latest tidings seem worse than 
ever. It is said that 60,000 have been slain, and as many 
more wounded, outraged, imprisoned, or abducted, leaving 
half a million utterly impoverished. This is a frightful tale, 
but alas ! it is too true. The evidence admits of no question. 
Even if no one can give the exact figures, the situation is 
appalling. So great is the number of the needy that the 
charity of Christendom is invoked on their behalf 

This outbreak of Mohammedan fanaticism began with the 
Sassun atrocities in September, 1894. The Porte did its best 
to conceal and then to deny the report of this terrific slaugh- 
440 



To the Rescue. 441 

ter, and Europe was slow to believe it ; but the truth came at 
last, and an investigating commission was demanded. It 
proved a total failure, through Turkish obstructiveness and 
duplicity. 

Finding that nothing was done to relieve the distress of the 
sufferers, a few friends of humanity in England organized a 
relief committee and appealed to the public for funds. The 
response was meagre. A few meetings were held in Massa- 
chusetts and elsewhere in the spring of 1895, and emphatic 
resolutions were sent to our Government. During the sum- 
mer and early autumn further details arrived, setting forth the 
horrors of the massacre and the great need of relief. Com- 
mittees were then formed in New York and Boston, and a few 
thousand dollars were sent out for the use of Dr. Raynolds 
and Mr. Cole, the distributing agents for the Anglo-American 
relief fund, under the protection of the B'ritish Consul. 

A Oarnival of Blood. 

In October the reforms which England had proposed in 
May received the Sultan's unwilling signature. The discus- 
sion of these reforms during the intervening months, and the 
presence of the European fleets in Turkish waters, had led 
the Armenians to anticipate speedy intervention. The same 
consideration, however, led the Moslems, inflamed by fanatical 
zeal, to adopt a policy of defiance and extermination. Within 
forty-eight hours of the Sultan's acceptance of the reforms 
the decree had gone forth, and the hideous saturnalia began. 
Under Imperial license the Kurdish marauders and the Turk- 
ish authorities joined hands in a carnival of blood that has 
lasted ever since. 

This new revelation of the spirit of Islam has encountered 
in our country a storm of indignation. The pulpit, the press, 
the Senate, the club, have freely uttered the popular sentiment 



442 To the Rescue, 

of abhorrence for the oppressor and of sympathy for the 
oppressed. Every one was asking what could be done to stop 
the butcheries and to help the starving refugees. To the 
former question — strange to say — there has been no answer. 
To the latter the reply was prompt, loud and clear. Relief 
was possible, the transmission of funds safe, and distributing 
agents were already on the field in the persons of the Ameri- 
can missionaries, over one hundred in number. 

Urgent Appeals for Relief. 

The existing committees soon issued additional information 
with appeals for money. All gifts were now acknowledged in 
the papers. Special meetings were held in thousands of 
churches. An Armenian Sunday was observed by many. 
Dispatches from the East and a flood of private letters of the 
most harrowing kind were widely published. Collections 
were taken in churches, Sunday-schools, societies, colleges 
and mass meetings. A few weekly papers opened their 
columns for relief subscriptions. Of these the Christimi 
Herald^ up to February 20th, 1896, reported the creditable sum 
of ^23,500 ; the Outlook, over ^3,000 ; the Montreal Witness^ 
about $Af.,QOO ; the Canada Presbyterian, Toronto, ;^540 ; the 
Lend-a-Hand, about ;^i,3oo. A few individuals, like Mr. 
Bogigian and Mr. Gulesian, of Boston, and Miss Mary Ham- 
lin, of Hampton, have collected funds privately to the amount 
of several thousand dollars. Dr. Field, of Bangor, has raised 
^640 in small sums for Van. About a thousand Armenians 
in this country have contributed from their slender resources 
during the last two months no less than ^33,000, sent through 
their friend, the Rev. M. H. Hitchcock, of Boston, to their 
surviving relatives, nine-tenths of whom live in the Harpl!it 
district and are in a most destitute condition. 

An Armenian relief fund committee of nine was organized 



To the Rescue. 443 

in New York in August, and soon after enlarged to sixteen 
members. The object of this organization was to give a 
national character to the movement as far as possible, and to 
secure a larger financial response. When the Red Cross 
decided to take the field, the National Committee made an 
agreement to supply it with funds, as did the Boston commit- 
tee. Each of these committees cabled ;^2 5,000 to Miss Barton 
on her arrival, and the National Committee acknowledged the 
receipt of over ;^6o,ooo for her use. 

The press has done most effective service, and the clergy- 
have been foremost in arousing public attention. It is a 
noticeable fact that the great cities do not give in any such 
proportion as the smaller towns and country churches. Very 
few large subscriptions have yet been received. Ordinary 
collections will not meet the exigencies of the case. The 
appeal is to business men, to large firm^ and bankers and 
persons of means. 

Systematic Collections. 

In every city there should be canvassing committees, 
appointed by the Mayor or the Board of Trade or some other 
responsible authority, to circulate subscription lists in person 
among the trades or professions, and acknowledge the amounts 
in the newspapers. Wherever this method is followed it 
yields far more than any other. Money only is called for ; 
clothing, food supplies, jewelry and other gifts are not 
solicited. Such important business should, indeed, be organ- 
ized systematically, like a political campaign, and then it will 
not fail of good results. 

It is gratifying to know that the funds sent by the responsi- 
ble committees have been at once disbursed among the needy 
in the afflicted districts of the interior without the loss of a 
single dollar. The arrival of Miss Barton upon the scene is 



444 To the Rescue. 

hailed as a promise that official protection will now enable 
the distributors to execute their sacred trust with greater 
freedom and on a larger scale. It should also be known that 
the expenses of the President of the Red Cross and her 
personal staff are provided for from private sources. The 
relief funds forwarded from this country during the autumn 
and winter may be summed up approximately as follows : 

Through the American Board ^110,000 

" •' Red Cross (Brown Bros. & Co.) about . . 55,000 
" other channels, perhaps 10,000 

Total , $175,000 

The English relief committee, feeling keenly the failure of 
their own Government to discharge its treaty obligations 
toward the Armenians, have sought to make such reparation 
as was possible by means of private charity. At the sugges- 
tion of the Dean of Winchester, the Christmas offerings in 
many churches were devoted to this cause. A special hymn 
was composed for the occasion, suggested by Rom. 16: 20 — 
" And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet 
shortly." 

Funds sent from England. 

The Duke of Westminster, as chairman, addressed a formal 
letter, February ist, to the Mayors of the United Kingdom, 
calling upon them to initiate local relief measures. In 
response subscriptions have been opened by the Mayors of 
Manchester, Bradford, Salisbury, Dublin and other places. 
» It is thought that about ;^20,ooo have been sent by this com- 
mittee through the British Ambassador, and distributed by 
the consuls and American missionaries. 

In Constantinople a considerable sum has been raised 
among the Armenians and foreign residents. Several of the 
embassies have opened a relief fund. The upper story of the 
Bible House in Stambul — a fine, large edifice — has become a 



To the Rescue, 445 

depository for clothing and other goods. Hundreds of 
women, mostly Armenian, have devoted all their time to 
collecting, preparing and forwarding the articles. 

Gratitude of the Sufferers. 

Russian, Austrian and English steamers in the Black Sea 
have given free passage to the refugees from Trebizond and 
Samsun. No report has appeared of relief work undertaken 
on the Continent of Europe. 

The Armenians everywhere are expressing the deepest 
gratitude for what the people of America are doing. Far 
more, however, needs yet to be done, if we would save the 
remnant of this long-oppressed nation, whose martyrs have 
stood so valiantly for the faith of the Cross on the outermost 
borders of Christendom. 

In reference to the above relief work, The Independent 
makes the following statement : 

It is of no use to mince words in the matter. We have 
here recounted the worst cruelties of which fanatical hatred is 
capable. The Turkish Government had come to believe that 
there was danger of an Armenian uprising. Instead of 
attempting to arrest and punish those who incited it, 
they determined to crush out by pillage and slaughter, by 
abduction of women and the forced conversion of men, the 
Armenian population itself; they determined that there should 
be no Armenian question in the future, and for a year and a 
half the slaughters have been going on and have not yet 
ceased. 

The very day that we write we receive news of late mas- 
sacres in Birejik which have nearly or quite wiped out the 
Christian population by sword and forced conversion, and 
converted the Protestant school into a Turkish college. For 
all this the larger part of Christendom does not seem to care. 



446 To the Rescue. 

Russia is perfectly indifferent to the wails of Christians, and 
only considers whether it can get Constantinople ; Germany 
is shockingly apathetic, and France as yet is silent, both 
fawning on Russia. Possibly France may awake ; for we 
observe that within the last two or three weeks the French 
Catholic missionaries in Turkey are adding their terrible testi- 
mony, confirming everything that had come to England and 

America. 

Paralysis of Governments. 

The Christian people in England and the United States do 
seem to be stirred up in the matter, but they also seem to 
have no influence upon their Governments. The British 
Government has shown a weakness which deserves and ap- 
pears likely to receive retribution ; and only a few of our 
own Senators and Representatives in Congress appear to 
imagine that anything more is necessary than a passing ex- 
pression of opinion. 

It is easy enough to arouse them on the subject of an 
insurrection in Cuba, carried on with a ferocity which leaves 
little to choose between one side or the other, and where 
each side has abundant opportunity to fight or to fly; but 
the sight in the sacred Bible lands of scores of thousands of 
men and women dying for their faith or compelled to re- 
nounce their faith seems to excite but languid interest. The 
old heroic spirit which led Christians to stand by each other 
appears to fail, or we would see Christian powers rivaling 
each other, instead of hindering each other, in their zeal to 
avenge the Lord's slaughtered saints and preserve the right of 
Christianity to exist against the sword of Islam. 

We do not like to give up the hope that our Government 
may do something more ; but at least we must insist that the 
very amplest protection be given to our citizens in Turkey. 
If the call of humanity, the call of Christianity, the voice of 



To the Rescue. 447 

Christ's brethren^ sick or in prison, anhungered or athirst, is 
not heeded by our Government, at least let there be no half- 
heartedness in compelling protection to be given, or ourselves 
giving protection, to our citizens in Turkey and securing 
reparation for every deed of wrong done to them. We are 
not among those who believe it impossible to do more ; but 
this must be done. 

And if our Government cannot do anything for the poor 
sufferers, American Christians can do something individually. 
Our own missionaries can distribute relief, and we have sent 
the representatives of the Red Cross also to take charge of 
this work, with their advice. We are not at all satisfied with 
the ^200,000 that has already gone to Turkey from the United 
States. Five times as much ought to be sent within a month. 
We beg our readers to waste no time in this matter. We beg 
every pastor and every church that has not yet taken up a 
contribution for this purpose to do it, as desired by the 
National Armenian Relief Committee, and to send the contri- 
butions, just as soon as possible, to the treasurers, Brown 
Brothers & Co., 59 Wall Street, New York, for immediate 
transfer to Constantinople, where they will be administered 
by the Red Cross Society. 

Call for Co-operation. 

Not nearly enough has yet been done; the urgency is 
greater than ever. Tlie men and women are on the ground 
who can do the work. They must be supported. Local 
relief organizations ought to be formed in every city and large 
town to co-operate with the National Conmittee. This is the 
very least that can be done. If we cannot interfere for the 
protection of the sufferers from slaughter and forced conver- 
sion, we can at least do this. 

We may think ourselves unable to protect that Armenian, 



448 To the Rescue, 

who, when threatened for teUing what he knew, said that he 
would tell no more ; that if called up he would deny what he 
had previously testified to, and who said : " I think rather than 
make twenty savages my enemies by telling the truth, it is 
better to make one God my enemy for telling a lie, and He 
will forgive me afterward ; " but we can at least cover the 
nakedness of his wife and children. If we decline to inter- 
fere to protect the honor of mothers and maidens, we can at 
least keep them from starving afterward. We are ashamed 
if this is all we will do ; we are ashamed that Christian 
nations satisfy themselves with praying for the curse of God 
on such assassins and upon such a Government and upon 
such a religion, instead of giving the utterance of their 
swords and bayonets to God's vengeance. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

What One May See in Armenia. 

BY FRANK G. CARPENTER. 

Millions of dollars will be required for the relief of Arme- 
nia, it is estimated. Miss Barton tells me at least 350,000 of 
its people are now on the verge of starvation, and that these 
will need support for from eight to ten months. She does 
not think a relief expedition should be undertaken at all with- 
out ^500,000 is contributed at the start, and she says that 
effective work will require an expenditure of millions. The 
Red Cross Society has no funds of its own. It has not ap- 
pealed to the people for money, but, at the request of the 
religious bodies of the United States, has merely announced 
its willingness to distribute such funds as the people may 
raise for the purpose. 

The amounts required for such a relief are enormous. I 
was in Russia during the last famine, and the people there ate 
up between two and three million dollars' worth of food every 
day. This was kept up for months, and I was told that the 
famine cost very nearly a half billion dollars. The private 
gifts of the Russians amounted to ;^ 180,000,000. The Gov- 
ernment gave nearly as much, and the present Czar, who was 
then the crown prince, was at the head of the relief fund. 
Our gifts to Russia in food and money amounted to less than 
a million dollars. They were merely a drop in the bucket in 
comparison to what was given by the Russians themselves. 
In Russia it was estimated that one person could be fed for 
five cents a day. . . 

29 449 



450 What One May See in Armenia, 



It will probably cost more than this in Armenia, as all of 
the food will have to be brought in from Europe. But even 
at five cents a person it will require ^17,500 a day, or more 
than half a million dollars a month for the food alone of those 
who are now starving. In addition money will be needed for 
clothes and shelter during the winter. The farmers will have 
to be aided in planting their crops, and it is hard to see how 
the people can be kept from now until harvest for less than 
;^5, 000,000. In this relief every cent will have to come from 
the outside, and if the other nations of Europe do not unite 
with us, it is doubtful whether enough funds can be raised to 
do effective work. The rich Armenians living outside of 
Turkey will probably help, and considerable aid may be 
expected from them. 

The Yankees of the Orient. 

The Armenians are the Yankees of the Orient. They are 
the brightest, brainiest and smartest of all the people of Asia 
Minor. They are superior to the Jews or Greeks in business. 
The Turks say, " twist a Yankee and you make a Jew, twist a 
Jew and you make an Armenian." The Greeks say that " one 
Gr-eek is equal to two Jews, but that one Armenian is equal 
to two Greeks." Another proverb current in Turkey is, 
*^ From the Greeks of Athens, from the Jews of Salonica, and 
from the Armenians everywhere, good Lord deliver us ! " I 
met the Armenians everywhere during my travels in Asia 
Minor, and I found them acting at the heads of all kinds of 
business. 

There are many rich Armenians in India. I traveled with 
one coming from Singapore to Calcutta, who told me he was 
on his way back from Hong Kong, where he had gone to sell 
pearls to the Chinese. I found the conductors on the Egyp- 
tian railroads to be Armenians, and when I traveled over the 



' 



What One May See in Armenia. 451 

Transcontinental Railway to Paris the guards on the train and 
the men who took up my ticket were Armenians, who spoke 
English and French. There are hundreds of thousands of 
Armenians in Europe. There are a large number in Persia, 
and those who live in different parts of Turkey are said to 
number about 1,000,000. There are a number in Constanti- 
nople. They manage most of the banking business of the 
Turkish capital, and the large mercantile establishments there 
belong to them. When the riots occurred in Stamboul a few 
weeks ago nearly all the stores were closed, their Armenian 
owners fearing they would be looted by the mob. 

When 1 visited the Government departments of the Sultan 
I found that though the chief officers were Turks, the clerks 
were, in most cases, Armenians, and the brightest man whom 
I met in Turkey was one of the Sultan's secretaries, who was 
of Armenian birth. He spoke a half dozen different lan- 
guages and was a man of great influence. There are Armenian 
engineers, architects and doctors in Constantinople, and when 
I got money on my letter of credit it was an Armenian clerk 
who figured up the exchange, and an Armenian cashier who 
handed out the money. The Armenians of Armenia proper 
are almost all farmers, and the exorbitant taxes of the Sultan 
have made the most of them poor. 

The Armenian Patriarch. 
I saw a large number of Armenian pilgrims during one 
Easter that I spent at Jerusalem. They had come from all 
parts of Asia Minor to pray at the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre. They have a Patriarch at Jerusalem who leads 
them in these celebrations. He is a tall, thin man with a 
long, gray beard, and a face not unlike that of the typical 
Georgia cracker. He usually wears a long gown, and has a 
little skull cap on the crown of his head. During the Easter 



452 What One May See in Armenia. 

celebration his head was covered with a tiara, which blazed 
with diamonds^ and his gown was a gorgeous silk robe, which 
was decorated with diamonds. The Armenians are, you know, 
Christians, and their customs are much like those of the 
Greek Church. They have monasteries and churches scat- 
tered throughout Asia Minor, and they claim to be the oldest 
of all Christian people. 

Holiest of All Lands. 

The Armenians assert that their country is the holiest land 
upon earth. It lies in Asia Minor, southeast of the Black Sea, 
and between it and Persia. Mount Ararat is situated in it, 
not far from the locality in which these outrages are now 
taking place, and some of the monasteries claim to have pieces 
of the identical ark in which Noah landed upon this mountain, 
and there is a ravine near it which is pointed out as the site 
of Noah's vineyard. The vineyard has a monastery connected 
with it, and the monks show a withered old vine, which they 
assert is the very one from which was made the wine which 
made Noah drunk. He cursed it after he got over his spree, 
and it has borne no grapes unto this day. Noah's wife is said 
to be buried on Mount Ararat, and the Armenians trace their 
ancestry back to Japhet in one long genealogical tree. 

They have a tradition that the Garden of Eden was located 
in Armenia. It was situated almost in the centre of the region 
where the worst massacres have occurred, and it is now one 
of the barren parts of the country. The Armenians believe 
that the wise men of the East, who followed the star of 
Bethlehem to find the young Christ, came from Armenia, and 
that the star first appeared in the heavens not far from Mount 
Ararat. 

Another curious Armenian tradition is as to Adam's fall. 
According to this, when Adam was in the Garden of Eden 



What One May See m Armenia. 453 

his body was covered with nails, hke those which we have on 
our fingers and toes. These nails overlapped each other like 
the scales of a fish, thus giving him an invulnerable armor. 
After the fall the nails all dropped off except from the ends 
of his fingers and toes, where they remain to this day to 
remind man of his lost immortality. The Armenians say that 
when God made Adam of clay he had a little piece left over. 
He threw this upon the ground, and as it fell it became gold 
and formed all the gold of the world. The Armenians 
believe in the Bible, and they are naturally a religious people. 

The Armenian Women. 

The condition of the women of Armenia is now terrible. 
They have no refuge from the Turks, and outrages of all 
descriptions are perpetrated, ending in death. In some of the 
Armenian cities during the late massacres, the girls were col- 
lected into the churches and were kept there for days at the 
pleasure of the soldiers before they were killed. One state- 
ment describes how sixty young brides were so treated and 
how the blood ran out under the church doors at the time of 
their murders. 

These Armenian women are among the most attractive of 
the far East. I saw a number of them during my trip through 
Asia Minor. They have large, dark, luminous eyes, with 
long eye-lashes, and their complexion is that of rich cream. 
Many of them have rosy cheeks and luscious red lips. They 
are tall and straight, becoming soon fat after marriage. They 
are very intelligent, and not a few of them are married to 
Turks. 

These women have a dress of their own. They wear red 
fez caps with long tassels, much like some of the country 
girls of Greece. The richer ladies wear loose jackets, lined 
with fur, and long, plain skirts of silk or fine wool. In the 



454 What One May See in Armenia, 

province of Van, where some of the outrages have occurred, 
the girls wear trousers under their skirts which are tied at the 
ankles. 

Some have long, sleeveless jackets, or cloaks, reaching almost 
to the feet and open at the sides up to the waists, and others 
wear gorgeous head-dresses, covering the front of their caps 
with gold coins, which hang down over their foreheads. 
Girls often wear their whole dowry on their persons, and in 
massacres like those which have occurred, rings are torn from 
the ears, arms are cut off for bracelets, and many a woman is 
killed for her jewelry. The poorer women are hard workers. 
Nearly every household has some kind of labor by which it 
adds to its income. Some of the finest embroideries we get 
from Turkey are made by Armenian women, the best of the 
work being done by hand in hovels. 

Armenian Houses. 

The houses in which the Armenians live are different in 
different countries. In many of the cities of Turkey there is 
an Armenian quarter, and the older Armenian houses of 
Smyrna are built like forts. They have no windows facing 
the street, and it has only been of late years when the people 
have considered themselves safe from religious mobs, such as 
have lately occurred, that they have built houses more like 
the Turks. In Armenia proper, where the outrages are 
going on, the poorer classes have homes which would hardly 
be considered fit for cows in America. The cow, in fact, 
lives with the family. The houses are all of one story, and 
it is not uncommon to build a house against the side of a 
hill, in order to save the making of a back wall. The roofs 
are flat, and are often covered with earth, upon which grass 
and flowers grow, and upon which the sheep sometimes are 
pastured. 



What One May See in Armenia. 455 

The floors are usually sunken below the level of the road- 
way, and the ordinary window is of about the size of a port- 
hole. You go down steps to enter the house, and you find a 
cow stable on one side, and on the other the kitchen and 
private apartments of the family. Each room has a stone 
fireplace, and the cooking is done with fuel of cow-dung 
mixed with straw. There are no tables and very few chairs. 
The animal heat of the cattle aids the fire in keeping the 
family warm, and all of their living arrangements are of the 
simplest and cheapest nature. The houses of the better class 
are more comfortable, and in the big Turkish cities some of 
the rich Armenians have beautiful homes. The Armenian 
women are good housekeepers. They are much more 
cleanly than the Turks, and even their hovels are kept clean. 

Queer Marriage Customs. 

They have a better home life than the Turks. A man can 
have but one wife, but the families of several generations 
often live in one house, in which case the daughter-in-law is, 
to a large extent, the servant of her husband's family. She 
has to obey her father-in-law, and during the first days of her 
married life she is not allowed to speak to her husband's 
parents, or any of the family who are older than herself, until 
her father-in-law gives her permission. Up to this time she 
wears a red veil, as a badge of her subjection, and this veil is 
often kept on until her first baby is born. Armenian girls 
are married very young. Eleven or twelve is considered 
quite old enough, and women are still young when they have 
sons aged twenty. 

Marriages are arranged by the parents or by go-betweens. 
The usual wedding-day is Monday, and on the Friday before 
the marriage the bride is taken to the bath with great cere- 
mony. On Saturday she gives a big feast to her girl friends. 



456 What One May See in Armenia, 

On Sunday there is a feast for the boys, and on Monday the 
wedding takes place. It usually occurs at the church, where 
the priest blesses the ring and makes prayers over the 
wedding garments. There are numerous other ceremonies, 
making the wedding last from three to eight days. One 
curious custom is that shortly after her return from the 
church the children present rush to pull off the bride's 
stockings, in which have been hidden some coins of money 
for the occasion, and another is the placing of a baby boy on 
the knee of the bride, as she sits beside the groom on the 
divan, with the wish that she may become a happy mother. 

Mohammedan Fanatics. 

The real cause of these outrages is, to a large extent, reli- 
gious fanaticism. The better classes of the Turks and the 
more intelligent of the Mohammedans would probably stop 
them if they could. The Sultan has, I am told, tried to do 
so, but he is afraid of his life. He realizes that if the common 
people get the idea that he is false to his religion he is almost 
sure of assassination. The Imans and the Sheiks, or, in other 
words, the Mohammedan priests, to a large extent, rule Tur- 
key to-day. They are, in most cases, ignorant and intolerant. 
At the head of them is the Sheik-ul Islam, or Grand Mufti. 
He is appointed by the Sultan, and the Sultan cannot kill 
him so long as he holds his title, though he can depose him. 

The Sultan himself cannot be deposed unless the Grand 
Mufti so decrees. He is a sort of a supreme judge in addi- 
tion to his religious character. Among the Mohammedan 
fanatics there are a large number known as dervishes, who 
roam about from country to country inciting trouble. They 
are walking delegates, as it were, for the killing of Christians. 
They stimulate the religious zeal of the people and make vio- 
lent speeches against unbelievers. They fast much, and they 
have curious methods of worship. 



What One May See in Armenia, 457 

One class is known as the whirling dervishes whom you 
may see any Friday going through their worship in Constan- 
tinople. They dress in long white robes, fastened at the waist 
with black belts, and on their heads they wear high, sugar- 
loaf hats. They sing the Koran as they whirl about in the 
mosques. As they go on the chief priest makes prayers. 
They whirl faster and faster, until at last their long skirts 
stand out like those of a ballet dancer. They become red in 
the face, and some finally drop to the ground in fits. 

Another class of these fanatics are the howlers. There is a 
great organization made up of these in Turkey, and they have 
probably been largely concerned in inciting feeling against 
the Armenians. I have visited their mosques, but I despair 
of adequately describing their religious gymnastics. They 
work themselves into a frenzy by gasping and howling out the 
the name of God, and the dervishes of the interior parts of 
Turkey often take knives and cut themselves and each other 
in religious ecstasy. They go into epileptic fits and foam at 
the mouth, and the most of them think that the killing of a 
Christian is a sure passport to heaven. I would say, however, 
that these people are the cranks of Mohammedanism, and that 
they are not a fair sample of the Mohammedan world. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The Turks and their Religion. 

The question will fairly be asked, Why could not the Turks 
lay aside their old religion, as the Bulgarians and Magyars 
laid aside theirs, and embraced the religion of Europe as the 
Bulgarians and Magyars embrace it The answer may be 
given in a very few words. The Bulgarians and Magyars 
could embrace Christianity, because they were heathens ; the 
Ottoman Turks could not embrace Christianity, because they 
were Mahometans. 

Because the Bulgarians and Magyars were further off from 
the religion and civilization of Europe than the Turks were, 
for that very reason they were able to adopt the religion and 
civilization of Europe and the Turks were not. This is a 
case in which we may reverse the familiar proverb, and say 
that no bread is practically better than half a loaf That is to 
say, a half civilization stands as a hindrance in accepting a 
more perfect civilization. A half truth in religion stands in 
the way of accepting more perfect truth. 

Experience proves this in all ages of European history. The 
rude nations of Western, Northern and Eastern Europe easily 
adopted the religion and civilization of Rome. No Mahome- 
tan nation has ever been known to accept Christianity; no 
nation that has reached the half civilization of the East has 
ever been known to accept the full civilization of the West. 
This fact, the fact of the wide distinction in these matters 
between the Ottoman Turks and the earlier Turanian settlers 
in Europe, is the very key of our whole subject. 
458 



The Turks and their Religion. 459 

The Turks are what they are, and they remain what they 
are, because their rehgion is Mahometan. It by no means 
follows that every Mahometan government must be as bad as 
the Ottoman government is now. For many Mahometan 
governments have been much better. But no Mahometan 
government can ever give to its subjects of other religions 
what we in Western Europe are used to look on as really 
good government. No Mahometan nation can really become 
part of the same community of nations as the Christian 

nations of Europe. ,. , r .1 -4. 

These positions make it needful to look a little further into 
the nature of the Mahometan religion, and into the relations 
which, under a Mahometan government, must_ always exist, 
between its Mahometan subjects and its subjects of other 
religions. ^^.^^.^^^ ^^^ Mohammedan Faith. 

This question is in itself a perfectly general one, not a 
special question between Mahometanism and Christianity, but 
a question between Mahometanism and all other religions. It 
is not needful here to inquire what would be the position of a 
nation of some third religion, neither Christian "O^ Mahome- 
tan We need not ask whether such a nation could be real y 
admitted into the European community, or whether it could 
eive really good government to any Christian or Mahometan 
Objects that it might have. A great deal might be .said m 
answ to such a question, as a matter of curious speculation 
But the question is of no practical importance for our present 
subject. The only practical choice in Europe lies between 
rhristianitv and Mahometanism. 

The praLal point is that, whatever a nation of some third 
releion might do, a Mahometan nation cannot live on terms 
of real communit; with Christian nations; a Mahometan gov- 
Iment cannot give real equality and good government to its 



460 The Turks and their Religion. 

Christian subjects. The question in modern Europe lies 
between Christian and Mahometan, because all the nations of 
Europe besides the Turks are Christian. But it must be 
borne in mind that the question of the relation between Ma- 
hometans and Christians is only part of a greater question — 
that is, of the relation between Mahometans and men of other 
religions generally. 

Rival Religions. 

What is true of Mahometans and Christians in Europe, is, 
or has been, true of Mahometans and Pagans in Asia. It is 
true that the opposition between Mahometanism and Christi- 
anity in Europe has been sharper than the opposition between 
Mahometanism and other religions elsewhere. And this has 
come of two causes : first, because Christianity and Mahome- 
tanism are more distinctively rival religions than any other two 
religions that can be named ; secondly, because Christians in 
Europe have, for nearly four hundred years past, had little to 
do with any Mahometans except the Ottoman Turks — that is, 
with the fiercest and the most bigoted of all Mahometans. 

Still, the relation between Mahometans and Christians in 
Southeastern Europe is only part of the general relation 
between Mahometans and men of other religions every- 
where. What is true in the case of Southeastern Europe will 
be found to be true in the main, though it will often need 
some qualification, in every land where Mahometans have 
borne rule over men of any other creed. 

The fact simply is that no Mahometan government ever has 
given or can give real equality to its subjects of other religions. 
It would be most unjust to put all Mahometan governments 
on a level in this matter. There have been Mahometan rulers 
who have avoided all wanton oppression of their non-Ma- 
hometan subjects; but, even under the best Mahometan 



The Turks and their Religion. 461 

rulers, the infidel, as he is deemed in Mahometan eyes, has 
never been really put on a level with the true believers. 

Wherever Mahometans have borne rule, the Mahometan 
part of the population has always been a ruling race, and the 
Christian or other non-Mahometan part has always been a 
subject race. The truth is that this always must be so ; it is 
an essential part of the Mahometan religion that it should 
be so. 

The Christian may freely embrace Islam, and no Christian 
may hinder him from so doing. But for a Mahometan to 
embrace Christianity is a crime to be punished with death. 
Thus the non-Mussulman subjects of a Mussulman ruler sink 
to the condition of a subject people. In the case of a people 
conquered by Mussulman invaders, they sink into bondmen 
in their own land. They remain a distinct and inferior 
community, reminded in every act of their lives that the 
Mussulmans are masters and that they are servants. They so 
remain as long as they are faithful to their religion : by for- 
saking it, they may at any moment pass over to the ranks of 
their conquerors. 

Thus every Christian under a Mussulman government is in 
truth confessor for his religion, as he might gain greatly by 
forsaking it. Still it is plain that such a state of things as 
this, grievous and degrading as it is, does not in theory 
involve any act of personal oppression. That is to say, 
though the Christian is treated in everything as inferior to 
the Mussulman, yet his life, his property, and the honor of his 
family might be safe. Under any Mahometan ruler who did 
his duty according to his own law, they would be safe, because 
the Christian by the payment of tribute purchases his right 
to all these things. But the great evil of a law which con- 
demns any class of people to degradation is that the practice 
under such a law is sure to be worse than the law itself. 



462 The Turks and their Religion. 

The relation between Christian and Mussulman under Mus- 
sulman rule is fixed, not by a law like an Act of Parliament, 
which may at any time be changed, but by a supposed divine 
law which cannot be changed. The relations between the 
Christian and the Mussulman, that is, the abiding subjection 
and degradation of the Christian, are matters of religious 
principle. The law enjoins neither persecution nor personal 
oppression ; it enjoins toleration, though merely a contempt- 
uous toleration. But when the toleration which the law 
enjoins is purely contemptuous, when the subjection of all 
religions but the dominant one is consecrated by a supposed 
divine sanction, it is almost certain that the practice will be 
worse than the law ; it is almost certain that contemptuous 
toleration will pass into an ordinary state of personal oppres- 
sion, varied by occasional outbursts of actual persecution. 

The Law of the Koran. 

So history shows that it has been. Instances may indeed 
be found in which Christians or other non-Mussulmans have 
fared better under a Mussulman government, than the law of 
the Koran prescribes ; as a rule, they have fared worse. It 
could in truth hardly be otherwise. When the members of 
one religious body feel themselves to be, simply on account 
of their religion, the superiors and masters of their neighbors 
of another religion, the position is one which opens every 
temptation to the worst passions of the human heart. A man 
must have amazing command of himself, if, when it is his 
religious duty to treat a certain class of men as subject and 
degraded, he does not deal with them in a way which carries 
with it something yet more than subjection and degradation. 

A bad man, even an average man, w^ill be tempted every 
moment to add direct insult and oppression beyond what the 
letter of his law ordains. And so it has been in the history 



The Ttirks and their Religion. 463 

of all Mahometan governments which have borne ru^e over 
subjects of other religions, especially over Christians. The 
best have been what we should call bad ; and their tendency- 
has been, like most bad things, to get worse. 

The Christian subjects of Mahometan powers have often 
been much better off than Christian subjects of the Turk are 
now. But in no case have they been what we should call 
really well off, and the tendency has always been for their 
condition to get gradually worse and worse. 

Propagated by the Sword. 

The truth is that the Mahometan religion is, above all 
others, an aggressive religion. Every religion which does 
not confine itself to one nation, but which proclaims itself as 
the one truth for all nations, must be aggressive in one sense. 
That is to say, it must be anxious to bring men within its 
pale ; in other words it must be a missionary religion. Now 
Mahometanism is eminently a missionary religion ; but it is 
something more. It is aggressive in another sense than that 
of merely persuading men to embrace its doctrines. It lays 
down the principle that the faith is to be propagated by the 
sword. 

Other religions, Christianity among them, have been pro- 
pagated by the sword; but it is Mahometanism only which 
lays it down as a matter of religious duty that it should be so 
propagated. No ruler who forced Christianity by the sword 
on unwilling nations could say that any precept of the Gospel 
bade him do so. And, as the precepts of the Gospel have 
come to be better understood, most Christians have agreed 
that such a way of spreading the faith is altogether contrary 
to the spirit of the Gospel. 

But the Mussulman who fights against the infidel till he 
makes his choice between the old alternatives of Koran or 



464 The Turks and their Religion. 

Tribute is simply obeying the most essential precept of his 
religion. This duty of spreading the faith by the sword, 
which the Koran enforces on all Mussulmans, at once places 
the Mahometan religion in a specially hostile position towards 
all other religions. And furthermore the whole character of 
that religion makes it the special rival of Christianity. 

A Bitter Strife. 

Without going into questions of theological dogma, one 
main cause of this special rivalry between Christianity and 
Islam is because those two religions have so much in com- 
mon. The Christian would say of the Mahometan, and the 
Mahometan would say of the Christian, that in each case the 
creed of the other had more of truth in it than there was in 
any other creed which was not the whole truth. As com- 
pared with heathen religions, the strife between Christianity 
and Mahometanism has the proverbial bitterness of the strifes 
of kinsfolk. 

A few plain facts show the special rivalry of the two reli- 
gions. Many heathen nations have embraced Christianity, 
and many have embraced Mahometanism. They have done 
so in both cases, sometimes freely, sometimes by force. And 
in both cases they have, by embracing either Christianity or 
Mahometanism, raised themselves in every way, moral, social, 
and religious. The advantage has been so clearly on the side 
of the Christian or Mahometan teacher that the heathens 
themselves have come to perceive it. But no Christian nation 
has ever embraced Mahometanism ; no Mahometan nation has 
ever embraced Christianity. For they are distinctly rival reli- 
gions, and not only rival religions, but religions which repre- 
sent rival systems of social and political life. 

Each holds itself to be theologically the one truth ; each 
believes itself to represent a higher and better civil and social 



The Turks and their Religion. 465 

system. And the Mahometan further beheves that his civil 
and social system is directly of divine authority. Precepts 
which were admirable in the time and place where they were 
first given, precepts which were a great reform when Mahomet 
first preached them to the Arabs of the seventh century, have 
been forced, wherever the Mahometan power has spread itself, 
upon all nations for all time. Hence, while a Christian gov- 
ernment is simply bound to shape its conduct according to 
the moral precepts of the Gospel, a Mahometan government 
is bound to enforce the Koran as the law of the land. 

Hence, too, while the Gospel is altogether silent about the 
relations between the spiritual and temporal powers, while 
Christian nations have, therefore, settled that question in 
different ways at different times, the Mahometan religion 
settles it in one way for all time. Wherever the Mahometan 
system is fully carried out, the spiritual 'power carries the 
temporal power with it. 

Every Act is Religious. 

The successor of the Prophet, the Caliph, is Pope and 
Emperor in one. In the Mahometan system there is no dis- 
tinction between Church and State, no distinction between 
religious and civil duty. Every action of a good Mussulman 
is not only done from a religious motive, but is done directly 
as a religious act. From this spring both the best and the 
worst features of the Mahometan system. This carrying of 
religion into everything, the swallowing up, as one may say, 
of the secular life in the religious life, leads to much that is 
good in the relations of Mahometans towards one another. 

A good and earnest Mahometan, who carefully follows the 
precepts of his own law, must, at least towards men of his 
own faith, practice many of the moral virtues. The Mussul- 
man too is never ashamed of his religion or of any of the 
30 



466 The Turks and their Religion. 

observances which it enjoins. And this is certainly more 
than we can say of all Christians. In short, if Islam had 
never gone beyond Arabia, we might have reckoned Mahomet 
among the greatest benefactors of mankind. 

The only fault which could in such a case have been laid 
to the charge of his system would be that, in reforming the 
old evils of the Eastern world, polygamy and slavery, he had 
forever consecrated them. The worst that we could have 
said of Islam within its own peninsula would have been that 
it was so great a reform as to make a still greater reform alto- 
gether hopeless. 

Bad Features. 

But this very feature which brings out so much good in the 
relations of Mahometans to one another is the very one which, 
before all others, makes Mahometanism the worst of all 
religions in its relation to men of any other religion. The 
feeling of exclusive religious pride and religious zeal which 
it engenders is very like that spirit of exclusive patriotic zeal 
and pride which may be seen in the history of various 
nations. The Mahometan has something in common with 
the old Roman. The good and the bad features of the old 
Roman character sprang from the same source. The Roman 
commonwealth was to him what the creed of Islam is to the 
sincere Mahometan. For the Roman commonwealth he 
would freely give himself, his life, and all that he had. To- 
wards his fellow-citizens of that commonwealth he practiced 
many virtues. 

But as he was ready to sacrifice himself to the common- 
wealth, so he was equally ready to sacrifice everything else. 
The rights of other nations, the very faith and honor of Rome 
herself, were as nothing in his eyes, if he deemed that the 
greatness of the commonwealth could be advanced by disre- 



The Turks and their Religion. 467 

garding them. So it is with the Mahometan rehgion. No 
religion has ever called forth more intense faith, more self- 
sacrificing zeal, on the part of its own professors. But the 
one precept which corrupts all, the precept which bids the 
true believer to fight against the infidel, turns that very 
faith and zeal which have in them so much to be admired 
into the crudest instruments of oppression against men of all 
other creeds. 

Animus of the Crimes. 

At this stage it may very likely be asked, and that not 
unfairly, whether it is meant to charge all Mahometan nations 
and all Mahometan governments with the crimes which dis- 
grace the rule of the Ottoman Turks. The answer is easy. 
If it is meant to ask whether all Mahometan nations and 
governments have been guilty of those crimes in the same 
degree, we may unhesitatingly answer, No. There is a vast 
difference between one Mahometan nation or government and 
another, just as there is a vast difference between one Chris- 
tian or Pagan nation or government and another. But it is 
none the less true that the crimes which mark the Ottoman 
rule spring directly from * the principles of the Mahometan 
religion. They show the worst tendencies of that religion 
carried out in their extremest shape. 

There have been other Mahometan powers under which 
those tendencies have not been allowed to reach the same 
growth. That is to say, there have been Mahometan govern- 
ments which have been very far from being so bad as that of 
the Ottoman Turks. But under every Mahometan govern- 
ment those tendencies must exist in some degree ; therefore, 
while some Mahometan governments have been far better 
than others, no Mahometan government can be really good 
according to our standard. 



468 The Turks and their Religion, 



For no Mahometan government which rules over subjects 
which are not Mahometans can give really equal rights to all 
its subjects. The utmost that the best Mahometan ruler can 
do is to save his subjects of other religions from actual perse- 
cution, from actual personal oppression ; he cannot save them 
from degradation. He cannot, without forsaking the principles 
of his own religion, put them on the same level as Mussul- 
mans. The utmost that he can do is to put his non-Mussul- 
man subjects in a state which, in every Western country, 
would be looked upon as fully justifying them in revolting 
against his rule. And, as we have seen, the tendencies to 
treat them worse than this are almost irresistible. Among 
the Ottomans those tendencies have reached their fullest 

development. 

The Ottoman Power. 

A rude people, a bigoted people, in its beginning a band of 
adventurers rather than a nation, rose to power under a line 
of princes who were endowed with unparalleled gifts for win- 
ning and keeping dominion, but who had but a small share in 
those qualities which make dominion something other than a 
mere rule of force. The Ottomans have been simply a power. 
They have been a power whose one work has been the sub- 
jugation of other nations, Mahometan as well as Christian, a 
power whose sole errand has been that of conquest, and 
which, therefore, as soon as it ceased to conquer, sank into a 
depth of wickedness and weakness beyond all other powers. 

The Ottoman Turk, a conqueror and nothing more, has 
had no share in the nobler qualities which have distinguished 
many other Mahometan nations which have been conquerors 
and something else as well. He has no claim to be placed 
side by side with the higher specimens of his own creed, with 
the early Saracens or with the Indian Moguls. It would be 
a blessed change indeed if the lands of South-eastern Europe 



1 



The Turks and their Religion. 469 

could be transferred from the rule of the corrupt gang at Con- 
stantinople to a rule just, if stern, like that of the first Caliphs. 
But, even under the rule of the first Caliphs, they would still 
be in a case which would cause any Western people to spring 
to arms. No Mahometan ruler, I repeat, can give more than 
contemptuous toleration ; he cannot give real equality of 
rights. One Mahometan ruler tried to do so, and not only 
tried, but succeeded. But he succeeded only by casting away \ 
the faith which hindered his work. Akbar was the one prince 
born in Islam who gave equal rights to his subjects who did 
not profess the faith of Islam. But he was also the one prince 
born in Islam who cast away the faith of Islam. To do his 
work, the noblest work that despot ever did, he had to cast 
aside the trammels of a creed under which his work could 
never have been done. No fact proves more clearly that 
under Mahometan rule there can be no real reform than the 
fact that the one Mahometan prince who wrought a real 
reform had to cease to be Mahometan in order to work it. 

Mohammedanism and Culture. 

So again with regard to another point. It may be asked. 
Is the Mahometan religion necessarily inconsistent with profi- 
ciency in literature, art, and science ? Here, too, a different 
answer may be given according to the different standard 
which is taken. The East has its own literature, art, and sci- 
ence, apart from those of the West : the East has its own civ- 
ilization apart from that of the West. We may deem that the 
East is inferior to the West in all these things, and history ' 
proves that it is so. But the real point is, not that one is 
inferior or superior to the other, but that they are essentially 
distinct. The Turk has never won for himself any share in 
the common intellectual possessions of the West. Even in 
the East, no one would place him in these respects on a level 



470 The Turks and their Religion. 

with either the Arab or the Persian, but wholly with regard 
to his share in the intellectual possessions of the West. In 
those possessions we may say that no Mahometan nation has 
ever had a full share, and that the Ottoman Turk has had no 
share at all. The Saracen, both of the East and of the West, 
has his distinct place in the history of art and science ; the 
Ottoman Turk has none. 

Aggravation of Evils. 

We have gone off somewhat from the main track of our 
argument to mark how far the special evils of Ottoman rule 
are shared by Mahometan governments in general, and how 
far they are directly owing to the Mahometan religion. The 
answer is that they are directly owing to the Mahometan re- 
ligion, that they must in some measure affect every Mahom- 
etan government, but that the special character and position 
of the Ottoman Turks has aggravated the worst tendencies of 
the Mahometan religion, and has made their rule worse than 
that of any of the other great Mahometan powers of the 
world. 

Let us once more compare the Bulgarian and the Ottoman 
Turk. The Bulgarians came in as heathen invaders. They 
embraced Christianity, and were lost among their Christian 
neighbors and subjects. Their government then became a 
national government. The Turks came in, not as heathen, 
but as Mahometan invaders. They have not embraced Chris- 
tianity They have always remained distinct from their 
Christian neighbors and subjects. Their government has 
never become a national government to any but the invading 
race themselves. It is a string of causes and effects. 

The rule of the Bulgarian could become a national 
government, because he embraced Christianity, and he was 
able to embrace Christianity because he came in as a heathen. 



The Turks and their Religion. 471 

The rule of the Ottoman Turk has never become a national 
government, because the Turk has never embraced Chris- 
tianity, he could not embrace Christianity because he came 

in as a Mahometan. , t, i. 

It is a fact well worthy of remembrance that both the 
Bulgarians, and somewhat later the Russians, when they 
became dissatisfied with their own heathen religion, had 
Mahometanism and Christianity both set before them, and 
that they deliberately chose Christianity. Had either of those 
nations chosen otherwise, the history of Europe would have 
been very different from what it has been. The rule of the 
Bulgarian would have been what the rule of the Turk has 

'^^^"' History might have been Different. 

The state of things which began in the South-eastern 
lands in the fourteenth century would have begun m the 
ninth We need not stop to show how different the whole 
history of the worid would have been, if the heathen Rus- 
sians instead of adopting Christianity, had adopted Mahom- 
etanism As it was, both nations made a better choice, and 
the history of the Bulgarian, as compared with that of the 
Ottoman Turk, has given, us the most instructive of lessons. 
The heathen conquerors could be turned into Christian 
brethren • the Mahometan conquerors could not. And, re- 
maining Mahometans, they could not give a national govern- 
ment to those of the conquered who remained Christians 

Now among those who so remained were the bulk of the 
conquered nations, the nations themselves as nations. Many 
individuals everywhere, in some lands large classes, embraced, 
as was not very wonderful, the religion of the conquerors 
and so rose to the level of the conquerors. But the vast 
majority clung steadfastly to the faith whose continued pro- 
fession condemned them to be bondmen in their own land. 



472 The Turks and their Religion. 

Thus the distinction of rehgion marked off the two classes of 
conquered and conquerors, subjects and rulers, the people of 
the land and the strangers who held them in subjection. 

Had it been merely the distinction of conqueror and con- 
quered, that might have died out as it has died out in so 
many lands. The Turk might by this time have been as 
thoroughly assimilated as the Bulgarian. But the distinction 
of religion kept on forever the distinction between conquer- 
ors and conquered. The process of conquest, the state of 
things directly following on conquest, still goes on after five 
hundred years. 

Thus the rule of the Mahometan Turk is not, and cannot 
be, a national government to any of his Christian subjects. 
This must be thoroughly understood, because so many 
phrases which we are in the habit of using are apt to lead to 
error on this point. Many words which have one meaning 
when we apply them to the state of things in Western 
Europe, have another meaning or no meaning at all when we 
apply them to the state of things in South-eastern Europe. 
If in speaking of things in South-eastern Europe we use such 
words as *^ sovereign," " subject/' " government," " law," we 
must remember that we are using them with quite another 
meaning than they bear when applied to the same things in 
Western Europe. 

Thus in common language we speak of the power which is 
now established at Constantinople as the Turkish " govern- 
ment " or the Ottoman ^' government.'' We speak of the 
Sultan as the ^'^ sovereign " of Bulgaria, Bosnia, Thessaly, or 
Crete. We speak of the Christian inhabitants of those coun- 
tries as the Sultan's " subjects." His subjects they undoubt- 
edly are in one sense ; but it is in a sense quite different from 
that which the word bears in any Western kingdom. 

The word " subject " has two quite different meanings when 



The Turks and their Religion, 473 

we speak of a Turkish subject and when we speak of a British 
subject. When we call an Englishman a British subject, we 
mean that he is a member of the British state, and we call 
him subject rather than citizen simply because the head of 
the British state is a king or queen and not a republican 
magistrate. Every British subject is the member of a body 
of which the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland is the head. 
But if we call a Bulgarian an Ottoman subject, it does not 
mean that he is the member of a body of which the Ottoman 
Sultan is the head. It means that he is the member of a 
body which is held in bondage by the body of which the 
Ottoman Sultan is the head. It does not simply mean that 
he is a subject of the Grand Turk as a political ruler. It 
means that he is also subject to all the lesser Turks as his 
daily oppressors. 

Peculiar form of Government. 

If we speak of '* government," the " Turkish government," 
and the like, the words are apt to suggest, often uncon- 
sciously, that they have the same meaning when they are 
applied to Eastern Europe as they have when applied to 
Western Europe. What i5 understood by " government " in 
Western Europe is the administration of the law. The gov- 
ernment is the body which protects those who obey the law, 
and which punishes those who break it. And in all the 
countries of Western Europe, whether they are called king- 
doms or commonwealths, the nation itself has some share, 
more or less perfect, more or less direct, in appointing and 
controlling both those who make the law and those who 
administer it. When this is the case, it matters nothing for 
our purpose whether the state is called a kingdom or a com- 
monwealth, whether the mass of the nation are spoken of as 
" subjects " or as " citizens." 



474 The Turks and their Religion, 

For our purpose, for the comparison between Eastern and 
Western Europe, '' subject " and "citizen^' mean the same 
thing. We speak of a British "subject" and we speak of a 
French " citizen ;" but the use of the two different words 
simply marks the difference of the form of the executive in 
the two countries. " Subject " and " citizen '^ aHke mean a 
man who is a member of a pohtical community, and who has, 
or may by his own act acquire, a share in the choice of 
those who make and who administer the law. 

The duties of the sovereign and of the subject are cor- 
relative. The subject owes allegiance to the sovereign who 
gives him protection ; the sovereign owes protection to the 
subject who lives under his allegiance. All this applies in 
its fulness to all constitutional states, whether they are called 
kingdoms or commonwealths. 

It applies in a less degree even to despotic states, so far as 
the despotic sovereign is really the head of the nation and 
has interests and feelings in common with the nation. But in 
Southeastern Europe, under the rule of the Turk, there is 
nothing which answers to the state of things which we have 
just been describing. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

History of Turkey and the Mohammedan 

Power. 

The vast empire of Kublai Khan, Emperor of China, ended 
with his life, in 1296. Among the many chiefs who rose to 
power upon its ruins was Orthogrul, a Turkish leader. His 
son Othman completed the work begun by his father, and, 
having conquered a portion of Nicomedia, established his 
capital at Prusa, and laid the foundations of the empire of the 
Ottoman Turks, who take their name from him. His son 
Orchan, taking advantage of the struggle between the elder 
and younger Andronicus, conquered Bithynia and advanced 
his dominions to the Hellespont. 

When the Emperor Cantacuzene embarked in his struggle 
for the throne, he asked the assistance of the Turks, and even 
gave his daughter in marriage to Orchan. Solyman, the son 
of Orchan, was sent over to Europe at the head of 10,000 
horse to aid Cantacuzene in his last quarrel with John 
Palaeologus, and the Turks were thus given a foothold in 
Europe which they never relinquished. The Chersonesus 
was quietly but rapidly filled with a Turkish colony, and the 
fortresses of Thrace passed into the hands of the Turks, who 
refused to surrender them to the Byzantine court, A. d. 1353. 

Amurath I., the son of Orchan and brother of Solyman, 
came to the throne in 1 360. He conquered all of Thrace and 
made Adrianople the capital of his kingdom. His dominions 
extended to within a short distance of Constantinople. He 

475 



476 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 

might have captured the capital of the Greek empire, but he 
deemed it best to delay this conquest for a while. He turned 
his arms against the Bulgarians, the Servians, Bosnians, and 
Albanians, the Slavonian nations inhabiting the region between 
the Danube and the Adriatic, and subdued them. From the 
multitude of his Christian captives Amu rath selected the 
strongest and most beautiful youths, and had them trained for 
his service. 

A Race of Warriors. 

They became known as janizaries, and being reared from 
early childhood in the Mohammedan religion and treated with 
great favor by the Sultan, they became his most devoted sub- 
jects. They also constituted the flower of the Turkish army, 
and were regarded as the most formidable troops in the world. 
Amurath was mortally wounded in battle in 1389. He was 
succeeded by his son, Bajazet I., called " Ilderim," or " Light- 
ning." He secured uninterrupted communication between his 
dominions in Europe and Asia by stationing a fleet of galleys 
at Gallipoli. With these he was able to command the Hel- 
lespont and intercept the expeditions sent from western 
Europe to the relief of Constantinople. The predecessors of 
Bajazet had been content with the title of emir, but he 
assumed that of sultan. He filled Europe with terror, and 
made a strenuous effort to conquer Hungary. 

All western Europe sent assistance to Hungary, whose 
cause was that of Christendom, but Bajazet inflicted a severe 
defeat at Nicopolis, in 1396, upon a confederated army of 
100,000 Christians led by Siegmond, King of Hungary. 
Bajazet invariably treated the Greek emperors as his vassals. 
He enclosed their empire, which consisted of but little more 
than Constantinople and its suburbs, on all sides with his 
extensive dominions, and the capture of the city was simply a 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 477 

question of time. He took advantage of the death of John 
Palaeologus and the accession of Manuel to claim the city as 
his own, and his demand being refused, besieged Constanti- 
nople. The city would speedily have fallen into his hands 
had he not been suddenly summoned to Asia to meet the 
advance of a new and formidable enemy, and Constantinople 
was spared for a while longer. 

The Celebrated Tamerlane. 

This new enemy was a Turkish chieftain named Timour, 
or Tamerlane. His ancestors had done service to the Mogul 
Khans, and at an early age he had risen to a high rank in the 
service of their successors. At the age of thirty-four (a. d. 
1370) he became Emir of Zagatai and the East, but this did 
not content him. He coveted the sovereignty of the world, 
and by the force of his genius became in the next thirty years 
the ruler of the greater part of the Mogul empire. Between 
1370 and 1400 he conquered and annexed to his dominions 
Persia, Georgia, Tartary and India. At the close of the cen- 
tury, although sixty-three years old, he descended from the 
Georgian hills and marched to conquer Syria and Egypt. It 
was the news of his approach that summoned Sultan Bajazet 
from the siege of Constantinople to take the field against the 
most formidable adversary the Ottoman Turks had yet en- 
countered. 

The effort of Bajazet I. to check the victorious march of 
Timour proved in vain. The latter took Aleppo and Damas- 
cus in Syria and reduced them to ashes. He turned aside 
from the invasion of Palestine and overran the provinces of 
Armenia and Anatolia. Bajazet endeavored to compel him to 
raise the siege of Angora in the latter country, but was 
defeated in a great battle near that city, and made a prisoner, 
July 28, 1402. 



478 Turkey a?id the Mohuminedaii Power, 

Tiniour was now master of all the vast region from the 
Irtish and the Volga to the Persian Gulf, and from the Ganges 
to Damascus and the Archipelago. Only the lack of vessels 
prevented him from carr}*ing his conquests beyond the Helles- 
pont He ruled this immense empire with firmness and 
ability, and '* might boast that, at his accession to the throne, 
Asia was the prey of anarchy and rapine, whilst under his 
prosperous monarchy a child, fearless and unhurt, might carry 
a purse of gold from the east to the west." Such was his con- 
fidence of merit that from this reformation he derived an 
excuse for his victories and a title to universal dominion. 

Ghastly Trophies. 

But the remedy was far more pernicious than the disease ; 
and whole nations were crushed under the footsteps of the 
reformer. The ground which had been occupied by flourish- 
ing cities was often marked by his abominable trophies, by 
columns or pyramids of human heads. Timour died in 1405 
while preparing for the conquest of China, and his empire was 
soon broken up among his descendants. 

The capture of Sultan Bajazet was followed in the Turkish 
dominions by a fierce civil war among his five sons, which 
lasted from 1403 to 141 3. At the end of this time order was 
restored by Mohammed L, who was recognized as universal 
sultan. The eight years of his reign were peaceful, and were 
spent in consoUdating his power in his dominions and in 
re-establishing the reign of law which had been overthrown 
by the civil war. His son, Amurath XL, suceeded him in 
142 1. The next year Amurath renewed the attack upon Con- 
stantinople, but after a siege of tw^o months abandoned the 
attempt. He was a man of singular moderation and justice 
for one of his race, and preferred the repose of private life to the 
cares of empire. Resigning the sceptre to his son, he retired 



I^^u, 



Turkey and the Molmmviedayi Poi.'er, 479 

to Magnesia. The invasion of the Hungarians drew him from 
his retirement, and his son rehnquished the crown to him. 

The Christians were 
finally routed in the 
ereat battle of Varna 
(t ].| |\ and Amurath 
again resigned the crown 
to his son, Mohamm.ed 
II. A few years later a 
formidable rebellion of 
the janizaries obhged the 
sultan once more to re- 



sume the government. 




as his son was too young 
and inexperienced to 
control the army. He 
remained on the throne 
until his death, in 145 1. 
;Mohammed XL was 
twent}'-one years old at 
the death of his father. 
He had been educated 
with the utmost care, 
and is said to have 
spoken in addition to his 
native tongue the Ara- 
bic. Persian, Hebrew. 

Greek and Latin languages. Yet in spite of this training he 
was a cruel, brutal and lustful t}'rant. From the opening of 
his reign he was resolved upon the capture of Constantinople. 
In 14^2 he began to fortify the Bosphorus to prevent the 
passage of European fleets to the assistance of the Greek 
capital, and in the spring of 1453 advanced to Constantinople, 



sel::.: 



480 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 

invested the city and captured it after a siege of fifty-three 
days. 

Mohammed's Victories. 

The Greek emperor defended his capital gallantly, but the 
Turkish force was overwhelming. Constantinople was made 
the capital of the Turkish empire, but the Greeks were treated 
with fairness by the conqueror, and were encouraged to 
remain in the city. Mohammed now sought to follow up his 
victory by the conquest of Hungary. He advanced to Bel- 
grade and laid siege to that important fortress, but was 
defeated and driven back by the Regent John Huniades in 
1456. These efforts were repeated during the remainder of 
Mohammed's reign, but without success. The sultan now 
turned his arms against the remaining Greek states. The 
Morea was conquered and annexed in 1460, and the next 
year Trebizond surrendered to him. 

In 148 1 a Turkish force was dispatched across the Adriatic, 
and Otranto on the Italian coast was stormed and sacked. 
Having secured this important footing in Italy, Mohammed 
prepared to follow it up by the conquest of the entire peninsula, 
but amid the general alarm which his movements occasioned 
throughout Europe, he died. He was succeeded by his son, 
Bajazet II. He was not a conqueror like his father, and under 
him the Mohammedan dominion fell off instead of advancing. 

The reign of Bajazet II. witnessed a decline of the Turkish 
power. In 1501 their empire was weakened by the establish- 
ment of the modern kingdom of Persia under Shah Ismail, the 
founder of the dynasty of the Sophis. The cause of this divi- 
sion was the adoption by the people of Persia of the doctrines 
of the Shia sect of Mohammedans. In 15 12 Bajazet's reign 
was cut short by his enforced abdication in favor of his son, 
Selim I., one of the greatest as well as one of the cruellest of 
the sultans. 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 481 

He made frequent wars upon the new kingdom of Persia, 
and made himself master of Kurdistan and Mesopotamia. He 
next conquered Syria and Egypt and annexed them to the 
Ottoman empire. He compelled the last of the Abbasside 
Khalifs to surrender to them the sacred title, which the Otto- 
man sultans have since borne. He died in 1520, and was 
succeeded by his son, Solyman I., who proved himself a much 
abler sovereign than his father. He was the greatest of the 
sultans. 

Important Captures. 

In the first year of his reign Solyman, who was determined 
to add Hungary and Western Europe to his empire, invaded 
the former country, and captured Belgrade and a number of 
important fortresses. He succeeded in conquering and annex- 
ing to his dominions, the southern part of the kingdom and the 
Temesvar and Banat. In 1521 he captured the Island of 
Rhodes from the Knights of St. John, who had held it since 
the Crusades. The knights retired from Rhodes to the island 
of Malta, which was bestowed upon them by the Emperor 
Charles V. They fortified its principal port, and in 1565 suc- 
cessfully resisted a determined effort of Solyman to capture 
their stronghold. 

In 1535 Solyman's admiral, Khaireddin, called Barbarossa, 

captured Tunis for him, but it was retaken by the Emperor 

Charles V., who inflicted a severe punishment upon the 

Turks in Africa, and restored Tunis to its rightful sovereign. 

In spite of this defeat, however, the fleet of Barbarossa swept 

the Mediterranean, and ravaged the coasts of Spain, Italy 

and France at pleasure. Thousands of captives were torn 

from their homes and sent to slavery in Africa. In spite of 

these outrages, Francis I., of France, in order to defeat the 

schemes of the Emperor Charles, made an alliance with the 

Turks. 
31 



482 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 

During this period Solyman conquered the islands of the 
Greek Archipelago, and sent a squadron into the Red Sea to 
oppose the Portuguese in India. The Venetians lost heavily 
by these conquests in the Archipelago, where they had exten- 
sive possessions. In 1542-3 the Turkish fleet in alliance with 
the French ravaged the southern coast of Italy. Reggio was 
burned, numerous captives were taken, and Rome was threat- 
ened. The Turkish fleet then sailed for Marseilles, where 
Barbarossa found a ready market for the captives he had taken 
on the Calabrian coast. Toulon was assigned to the Turks 
for their winter quarters. An unsuccessful attempt was made 
upon Nice by the combined French and Turkish fleets during 
the same year. 

A few years later the Turks quarreled with their Christian 
allies, and seized a number of French nobles, whom they held 
for ransom. During the whole of the century the Turkish 
corsairs kept the coasts of Europe in danger, and during the 
Ue of Solyman the European states were never free from 
the dread of a general invasion of the infidels. In 1566 Soly- 
man died. 

A Profligate Prince 

Selim II. succeeded his father. He began his reign by 
making a truce for twelve years with the Emperor Maximi- 
lian II. He was a weak and profligate prince, and secured 
the allegiance of the janizaries by distributing large sums of 
money among them. He then made war without success 
against Persia. In 1570 he sent a fleet and an army of 
50,000 men to conquer Cyprus, which for nearly a century 
liad been a dependency of the Venetian republic. The next 
year saw him in possession of the entire island. Pr)pe Pius V, 
now organized a holy league, consisting of himself, the King 
o^ Spain, and the republic of Venice, for the expulsion of the 
Turks from the Mediterranean. A fleet of 300 vessels, com- 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 483 

manded by Don John, of Austria, half-brother of Philip of 
Spain, was assembled, and dispatched against the Moham- 
medans. 

Great Naval Successes. 

The Turkish fleet, superior in strength to that of the Chris- 
tians was discovered in the harbor of Lepanto, the ancient 
Naupactus. Don John at once attacked it, and gained over it 
one of the most memorable naval victories on record. The 
Turks lost 224 ships and 30,000 men, and their supremacy m 
the Mediterranean was utterly destroyed. They never recov- 
ered from this blow, and from this battle ceased to be a terror 
to Europe. Their empire steadily declined from this time. 
If the Christians had followed up their victory with vigor, 
they might have wrested Greece from the Porte. They were 
divided by quarrels, however, and the nejct year the Turks 
were able to put another fleet afloat. The Venetians now 
made a separate peace with the Sultan, and surrendered all 
their claims to Cyprus. Ini 572 Selim died. 

The immediate successors of Selim were sunk m pleasure, 
and made no efforts to extend their dominions. In 1594 
Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania revolted from Amu- 
rath III. and made an alliance with the emperor. Amurath 
in great 'alarm sent to Damascus for the holy standard, which 
he supposed would bring him victory. He died in 1 595, and 
was succeeded by his son, Mohammed III., who secured his 
succession by murdering his nineteen brothers. During this 
year the Austrian army under Count Mansfeld defeated the 
Turks in a series of battles. In 1596 Mohammed took the 
field in person, and in a three days' battle at Keresztes inflicted 
a terrible defeat upon the Christians, who lost 50.000 men and 
100 pieces of cannon. The war lasted until January, 1607, 
but the Turks neglected to reap the advantages of their great 
victory and gained nothing of permanent value by the struggle. 




4S4 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 485 

The peace of Sitvatorok in 1607, which closed the war 
between the Turks and tiie empire, showed a great abatement 
in the pretensions of the Turks, whose power now began to 
decHne. In 161 8 Mohammed III. was succeeded by his son, 
Othman II., who attempted the conquest of Poland. His 
disastrous failure so enraged the janizaries that they murdered 
him at the close of the war, a.d. 1622. He was only eighteen 
years old at the time of his death. H^is uncle, Mustapha, 
an imbecile, was taken from a dungeon and seated on the 
throne, but was removed within a year to make way for 
Amurath IV., the younger brother of Othman. 

The Turks Defeated in Hungary. 

In 1645 the Sultan attempted the conquest of Crete, which 
had been held up to this time by the Venetians ; the war for 
the possession of this island terminated in 1*669 ^^ i^^ conquest 
by the Turks, who held undisputed possession of it for nearly 
two hundred years. 

In 1649 Mohammed IV. came to the throne. In 1663 a 
new war was begun with Austria. It was closed by the treaty 
of Vasvar, in August, 1664. The Turks were allowed to 
retain all their conquests in Hungary, and were paid the sum 
of 200,000 florins by the emperor. In 1683, the truce of 
Vasvar having nearly expired, Mohammed sent an army under 
Kara Mustapha, the Grand Vizier, to the assistance of the 
revolted Hungarians. Vienna was besieged, but was relieved 
by the armies of King John Sobieski and the Duke of Lor- 
raine. The Turks were defeated and driven out of Austria 
and Hungary. 

The Duke of Lorraine continued the war with great energy, 
and in three years regained all Hungary, Transylvania, and 
Slavonia for the empire. The long line of defeats which 
befell the Turkish arms produced a revolt in Constantinople 



486 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 

in 1687. The Sultan was thrown into prison, and was suc- 
ceeded by his brother, Solyman II. This prince was suc- 
ceeded in 1696 by Mustapha II. The war with Austria and 
Poland went on with varying success until 1699. In 1684 the 
Venetians had joined the emperor against the Turks, and had 
conquered the whole of Peloponnesus. 

Destruction of the Parthenon. 

In this war the beautiful temple of the Parthenon, at Athens, 
which had been converted by the Christian emperors into a 
church, and by the Turks into a powder-magazine, was blown 
to atoms by the explosion of the powder stored in it. In 
1699 the war was concluded by the peace of Carlowitz. By 
this treaty Turkey ceded to Austria nearly all the territory 
she had held in Hungary, Transylvania, Sclavonia, and part 
of Croatia. Venice received the Peloponnesus, several for- 
tresses in Dalmatia, and the islands of St. Maura and .^gina. 
Poland obtained the Ukraine, Podolia, and Kameniek. 

After the treaty of Carlowitz the Sultan hesitated for three 
years before coming to an agreement with Russia, as he was 
by no means anxious to admit that power to a footing on the 
Black Sea. The capture of Azov by the Russians made it 
impossible for him to prevent their presence on the Black Sea, 
and in July, 1702, he reluctantly submitted to the inevitable, 
and ceded Azov and a strip of eighty miles of coast to Russia. 
Peter the Great set to work at once to strengthen Azov, and 
made it one of the strongest fortresses in Europe. 

The power of Turkey steadily declined during this century. 
The cessation of the tribute of Christian children, by which 
the janizaries had been recruited, deprived the Sultan of his 
best and most devoted servants. The Turkish armies no 
longer enjoyed the guidance of great leaders and competent 
officers. The subject nations began to grow stronger as Tur- 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 487 

key grew weaker, and it was plain to all thoughtful observers 
that they would not remain in subjection much longer. 

The desire of Russia to obtain the northern shore of the 
Black Sea, and ultimately to wrest their European territory 
from the Turks, made frequent wars a necessity for Turkey, 
which from this time was compelled to maintain her existence 
by the sword. When Charles XII. was in Turkey, Peter the 
Great suddenly invaded the Turkish territory, as we have re- 
lated in the Russian history, and came near being ruined. 
He was glad to make a treaty by which he surrendered 
Azov, in order to be able to withdraw into his own dominions 
without further loss, a. d. i/ii. 

Immediately after the peace of Utrecht, the Sultan, Achmet 
III., declared war in 171 5 against the Venetians, and overran 
the Morea. The Emperor, Charles VI., in order to enforce 
the terms of the peace of Carlowitz, declared war against the 
Turks. His commander. Prince Eugene, routed the Turkish 
army at Peterwardin, and laid siege to Belgrade. A Turkish 
army approaching to the relief of that fortress was defeated 
by Eugene, and Belgrade was forced to surrender, A. D. 17 17. 
The war was closed by the peace of Passarowitz, in 17 18. 
The Turks surrendered Belgrade and the Bannat of Temisvar 
to the emperor, but retained the Morea. 

A new war broke out between Russia and Turkey in 1736, 
and continued until 1739, Austria taking part in it as the ally 
of Russia after 1737. At the close of the war Belgrade, 
Sebatch and Austrian Servia were ceded to Turkey, but 
Russia, who had regained Azov, held on to that place. By 
this treaty — known as the peace of Belgrade — Russia agreed 
not to keep any fleet in the Black Sea. At the outset of the 
war Mahmoud I., who succeeded to the Turkish throne in 
1730, died, and Mustapha III. became sultan in a. d. 1737. 

In 1769, during the reign of Mustapha III. of Turkey and 




488 



Turkey and the Mohaimnedan Poive7^. 489 

Catharine II. of Russia, the affairs of Poland involved Turkey 
in a war with Russia. The war began in the spring of 1769, 
and the Russian forces were defeated and driven beyond the 
Dneister. In 1770 a Russian fleet sailed from the Baltic to 
the Mediterranean, and entered the Archipelago. The Turk- 
ish fleet was defeated at Epidaurus, and again at Scio, and 
was burned in the harbor of Smyrna. The Greeks of the 
Morea rose at the call of Russia, which power intended 
establishing an independent Greek kingdom as an offset to 
Turkey, but as soon as the Rusian forces were withdrawn, a 
Turkish army of 30,000 men entered the Morea, defeated the 
Greeks in the battle of Modon, and punished their defection 
with fearful cruelties. 

Widespread Insurrection. 

In the meantime the Turks had recovered Moldavia and 
Wallachia, but Prince Romanzoff took command of the Rus- 
sian forces in 1770, defeated the Turkish army in a great 
battle near the mouth of the Pruth, and reconquered Wal- 
lachia and Moldavia. To add to the troubles of Turkey, 
Egypt and Syria rose in insurrection against her. The war 
went on with varying success, but to the general disadvantage 
of Turkey, until July, 1774, when the treaty of Kutchuk- 
Kainardji brought it to a close. 

The terms of this treaty have been stated in the Russian 
history of this period. Mustapha III. died in 1774, and was 
succeeded by his younger brother, Abdul Ahmed. He 
reigned until 1789, when he was succeeded by his nephew, 
Selim III., the son of Mustapha, whose reign lasted through 
the century. 

In 1787 a new war broke out between Turkey and Russia. 
Its events are related in our account of Russia, to which the 
reader is referred. Turkey was defeated almost invariably in 



490 Turkey and the MGhammedaii Power. 

this war ; her fleets were destroyed and her fortresses taken. 
The war was closed by the peace of Jassy, in January, 1792. 
Russia had already become mistress of the Crimea, and by 
this treaty the Dneister was made the boundary between the 
two empires. 

The territory thus won by Russia was lost to Turkey for- 
ever. The remainder of the century was productive of no 
event of importance in Turkish history, apart from the 
invasion of Egypt and Syria by the French under Napoleon 
Bonaparte, which we have already related. 

Resistance to Turkish Power. 

The Turkish power was at a very low ebb at the opening 
of the nineteenth century, and many of the subject nations, 
both Christian and Mohammedan, sought to throw off the 
yoke of the Sultan and establish their independence. In 1 806 
Servia revolted under the leadership of Czerni George. It 
was conquered in 18 13, but again revolted in 181 5, under 
Milosh Obrenowitz. 

Montenegro also rebelled, and until the Crimean war these 
provinces enjoyed a state of quasi independence. Egypt was 
also strongly disaffected. In 1809 a war broke out with 
Russia, which resulted in a further loss of Turkish territory. 
It v/as closed by the treaty of Bucharest, by which the Sultan 
ceded to Russia Bessarabia, Ismail and Kilia, one-third of 
Moldavia, and the fortresses of Chotzim and Bender. 

In 1807 Selim III. died, and was succeeded by Mahmoud 
II., under whom the Turkish power continued to decline. The 
population of the Turkish empire in Europe was about 
14,000,000, of whom scarcely 2,000,000 were Turks. The 
remainder were Christians, consisting principally of the four 
distinct races inhabiting European Turkey, viz.: the Sclavon- 
ians, occupying Bulgaria, Servia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 491 

Montenegro ; the Roumanians, occupying Moldavia and 
Wallachia ; the Albanians, dwelling in ancient Epirus, and 
the Greeks. 

The Greeks had neve-r willingly accepted the rule of 
Turkey, and some portions of them had never submitted to 
the Porte, but had maintained a wild, brigandish existence in 
their mountains. Though the Greeks were attached to 
Russia by the strong ties of a common religion, that power 
refused to do anything for their freedom, and Alexander I. 
met their appeal for aid against their Turkish oppressors with 
the cold command : " Let the Greek rebels obey their lawful 
sovereign." 

Uprising of the Greeks. 

In spite of this discouragement the Greeks determined to 
throw off the Turkish yoke, and in March, 1821, the first blow 
was struck. The people of the peninsula and the islands rose 
in a general revolt. When the news of the revolution was 
received at Constantinople a general massacre of the Greek 
inhabitants of the capital ensued. The war went on through 
the year 1821, the patriot forces winning several important 
successes, among which was the capture of the Turkish 
capital of the Morea. In January, 1822, a national congress 
met at Epidaurus, proclaimed the independence of Greece, 
and adopted a provisional constitution. Alexander Mavro- 
cordatos was chosen president. In the spring of the same 
year the Turks made a descent upon Scio. massacred 40,000 
of the inhabitants, and carried away thousands to the slave 
markets of Smyrna and Constantinople. 

In 1823 the admiration and sympathy of all Europe were 
aroused by the heroic death of Marco Bozzaris, who, with a 
small band of Suliote patriots, attacked the Turkish camp and 
fell in the arms of victory. The European governments 
looked coldly upon the gallant struggle, but the people 



492 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 

remembered the glories of ancient Greece, and supplies of 
money, arms and men were sent to the patriots. Foremost 
among those who devoted their fortunes and talents to the 
freedom of Greece was Lord Byron. He died at Missolonghi 
in April, 1824, before he could accomplish much for the cause 
he had adopted. 

Unable to conquer Greece, the sultan summoned Mehemet 
Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt, who enjoyed a state of actual inde- 
pendence, to complete the task. This vigorous leader spread 
terror and desolation throughout Hellas. Missolonghi was 
taken after a heroic defence, and Athens was captured in 
1825. The Egyptian forces had orders to make a desolation 
of Greece, and to carry off the people into slavery. 

Destruction of the Mohammedan Fleet. 

Alexander I., of Russia, fortunately died at this juncture 
and the Czar Nicholas, his successor, adopted a different 
policy. Moved either by his sympathy with his co-religion- 
ists or by his anxiety to weaken Turkey, he resolved to inter- 
vene in behalf of the Greeks, and was joined by France and 
England, who were anxious to impose a check upon the 
Egyptian viceroy. These powers sent a strong combined 
fleet to the Mediterranean. On the 20th of October, 1827, 
this fleet, under the command of the English Admiral Cod- 
rington, accidentally encountered the Turkish and Egyptian 
fleet in the Bay of Navarino. A battle ensued, which 
resulted in the destruction of the Mohammedan fleet. 

This success revived the hopes of the Greeks, and the next 
year Russia declared war against Turkey ; and the sultan, in 
order to save his Danubian provinces, was obliged to sign 
the treaty of Adrianople, by which he acknowledged the inde- 
pendence of Greece. 

Mehemet Ali was givci tlT? sovereignty of Crete by the 






Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 493 

sultan for his services in the Greek revolution. Not satisfied 
with this acquisition, he sent his son, Ibrahim Pasha, an able 
commander, in 1831, to conquer Syria. That country was 
overrun by the Egyptian forces, who also advanced towards 
Asia Minor. Their progress was at length stayed by the 
intervention of Russia, England and France, whose forces 
defeated Ibrahim at Nisibis on the Euphrates. A few days 
after this battle Sultan Mahmoud died. France was anxious 
that Mehemet AH should succeed him, but England and 
Russia drove him out of Acre and Syria, and secured the 
Turkish throne for Abdul Medjid, the young son of Mah- 

"^°" * The Treaty of London. 

In 1840 the treaty of London was signed. Crete and 
Syria were restored to the Porte, and Mehemet Ali was limited 
to Egypt For many years after this Sir Stratford Canning, 
afterward Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, the English ambassador 
at Constantinople, controlled the counsels of the Porte. By 
the treaty of London, Egypt became, to a certain extent, an 
independent state, though owning a nominal allegiance to the 

sultan. . , , . 1 ^ ■ 

In 185 1 began the troubles which resulted in the Crimean 
war which we have related elsewhere. The treaty of Paris, 
in 1856, which brought this war to a close, admitted Turkey 
to the European system of states, and guaranteed the integrity 
of her dominions. Servia was given a native prince, and was 
placed under the protection of the great powers, though she 
retained a nominal allegiance to the sultan. Moldavia and 
Wallachia, a few years later, were erected into a similarly 
independent state under the name of Roumania. 

In 1861 Abdul Medjid died, and was succeeded by Abdul 
Aziz In 1868 a formidable insurrection broke out in the 
island of Crete or Candia. It aroused great sympathy among 



494 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 

the European people, and came near producing a war between 
Greece and Turkey, but was quelled during the following 
year by the Turks. 

Mehemet A]t was succeeded as Viceroy of Egypt by his son 
Ibrahim Pasha, under whose vigorous rule Egypt made great 
progress. He died in 1848, and Abbas Pasha became viceroy, 
and was, in his turn, succeeded by Ismail Pasha^ the reigning 
khedive. 

In 1867 the Sultan Abdul Aziz visited Paris and London 
and the principal cities of Europe. This was the first time a 
Turkish sovereign ever made a peaceful journey beyond the 
limits of his own empire. 

Russia Gains an Advantage. 

The result of the war between France and Germany, in 
1870-71, affected Turkey in a most important respect. The 
treaty of Paris, which closed the Crimean war, placed a re- 
striction upon the aggressive power of Russia by neutralizing 
the Black Sea. The reverses of France in her contest with 
Germany so weakened her that she was unable to sustain 
England in upholding the treaty of Paris. Russia promptly 
took advantage of this to demand of the Powers a modifica- 
tion of those articles of the treaty which prevented her from 
fortifying her ports or maintaining an armed fleet in the Black 
Sea. 

England warmly opposed the demand, but France was in 
no condition to do so, and Germany and the Austro-Hun- 
garian monarchy gave their moral support to the Russian 
demand, and avowed their intention not to co-operate with 
England in any armed resistance to it. The result was that a 
conference of the representatives of the Powers was held in 
London and on the 13th of February, 1871, a treaty was signed 
by them abrogating the articles of the treaty of Paris as to 



Turkey a7id the Mohammedan Power, 495 

the navigation of the Black Sea and the right of Russia to 
fortify her ports. The protection afforded to Turkey by the 
great Powers was thus taken from her. 

In 1873 the Sultan's authority over Egypt was further 
weakened by the concessions which made the Khedive almost 
an independent sovereign, and which we have related in the 
history of Egypt. 

Turkish Misrule and Oppression. 

In the summer of 1875 an insurrection broke out in Herze- 
govina. The misrule and oppression of the Turkish govern- 
ment had come to be insupportable, and the inhabitants rose 
in rebellion and repulsed the attacks of the Turkish troop-, 
Servia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria were profoundly 
excited by these events, and were open jn their sympathy 
with their struggling Christian brethren in Herzegovina. 
Substantial aid was also rendered by the people of those 
countries^ the governments of which for a time remained 
neutral. 

In October, 1875, Turkey failed to meet the interest on her 
national debt, the principal. of which amounted to over ^900,- 
000,000. A decree was issued by the Porte promising speedy 
payment of half the interest and making provision for the 
payment of the other half The promise was not fulfilled, 
and in July, 1876, the Porte was compelled to declare its 
insolvency by stating that all payments on account of the 
national debt must cease until the close of the war with its 
revolted provinces. As nearly ever}^ dollar of this debt was 
due to citizens of western Europe, principally English sub- 
jects, the failure of the Turks to meet their obligations greatly 
weakened the friendship which, up to this time, the EngHsh 
people had felt for them. 

On the 30th of May, 1876, the Sultan Abdul Aziz, to whose 



496 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 



mismanagement many of the troubles of the country were 
due, was forcibly deposed, and placed in confinement in one of 
the palaces at Constantinople. On the 4th of June he was 
found dead in his chamber, having committed suicide. 

Murad (or Amurath) V., 
the son of Abdul Medjid, 
was proclaimed Sultan in 
the place of his uncle. His 
reign was a brief one. He 
proved so hopelessly imbe- 
cile that, on the 31st of Au- 
gust, 1876, he was in his 
turn deposed, and was suc- 
ceeded by his brother, Ab- 
dul Hamid n. 

In the meantime the war 
with Herzegovina had been 
carried on. In October, 
1875, the Sultan declared 
that the taxes which had 
been one cause of the re. 
volt, should be lowered from 
their excessive rate to ten 
per cent., that arrears of 
taxes should be abandoned, and that the Christians should 
be granted a representation in the state councils. The Chris- 
tians had learned from long experience to distrust these 
promises, and the war went on. In October, 1875, some 
Christians who had come back to their homes from Dalmatia 
were massacred by the Turks, and the struggle became more 
bitter in consequence of this act. Servia and Montenegro 
secretly gave aid to the rebels, and the Prince of Servia 
declared in a speech to the national assembly that it was 




ABDUL AZIZ. 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 497 

impossible for Servia to be indifferent to the fate of the Herze- 
govines. 

It was feared by the European powers that the troubles in 
Turkey might be the means of embroiling other countries in 
the war, and near the close of the year 1875, Germany, 
Austria, and Russia made a combined effort to secure peace. 
Austria, whose territory adjoined the Turkish dominions, was 
especially fearful that the revolt would extend across her 
border and involve her Sclavonic possessions. A joint note 
was drawn up in the name of the three powers by Count 
Andrassy, the Austrian prime minister. 

System of Reforms. 

This note proposed to the Sultan to grant certain reforms to 
his Christian subjects. These were the establishment of com- 
plete religious liberty ; the abolition of the system of farming 
out the taxes ; the application of the revenue arising from 
indirect taxation in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the general 
purposes of the Ottoman government, and the employment of 
the results of the direct taxation in the improvement and 
government of those provinces. The Porte accepted all the 
reforms but the disposition of the taxes, at the same time 
promising to set aside a certain sum from the national treasury 
for the local wants of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The insurgents were not willing to trust the pledges of the 
Porte, however, and the war went on. On the 30th of March, 
1876, an armistice was concluded, and an effort was made by 
an agent of the Austrian Government to effect a settlement. 
The terms demanded by the insurgents were so extravagant, 
however, that Austria refused to consider them. 

The Andrassy note having failed, a note was drawn up at 
Berlin on the nth of May, 1876, by the prime ministers of 
Germany, Austria and Russia, and forwarded to Constanti- 
32 



498 Turkey and the Mohainmedan Power. 

nople. It stated peremptorily that as the Sultan had given 
the powers a pledge to execute the reforms proposed by them, 
he had also given them a moral right to insist that he should 
fulfill his promise. 

The note then demanded an armistice of two months, and 
closed with a threat that if the Sultan failed to comply with 
the demands of the Powers, they might find it necessary to 
compel him to do so. The note substantially supported the 
demands of the Christians of Herzegovina with respect to 
taxation and the restoration of their property, etc. France 
and Italy agreed to support the note, but England declined 
to do so. 

Massacred in Cold Blood. 

The war had gone on in the meantime, and Bulgaria had 
become to some extent involved in it. Early in May the 
Turkish officials in Bulgaria determined to put a stop to the 
troubles in that province by the wholesale extermination of 
the Bulgarian Christians. A systematic plan was arranged 
for this purpose, and at the appointed time the Christians 
were attacked in their villages by the Turks. Many hundreds 
were massacred in cold blood, including people of all ages 
and both sexes ; women were outraged, property carried off 
or destroyed, and villages burned. 

The news of the massacre sent a thrill of horror and indig- 
nation throughout Europe, and the Turks were denounced in 
unmeasured terms. In England, which country had until now 
given its moral support to Turkey, the outburst of indigna- 
tion was intense, and the popular feeling was so outspoken 
that the government was compelled to pause in its support of 
the Sultan and act more in sympathy with the other European 
powers. 

An immediate result of the massacres was the active partici- 
pation of Servia in the war. In July, 1876, both Servia and 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 499 

Montenegro declared war against Turkey. The Servian 
army attempted to invade Bulgaria, but v\^as so unsuccessful 
in its efforts that on the 24th of August Prince Milan accepted 
the offer of England to mediate between him and the Sultan. 
Montenegro had been generally successful in her efforts, 
but, in view of the action of Servia, consented to treat for 
peace. On the ist of September England proposed an armis- 
tice of a month between the belligerents. 

The Sultan's Demands. 

The Sultan refused to grant this, but declared himself will- 
ing to make peace on condition that Prince Milan should 
come to Constantinople and do homage to him, that Turkish 
garrisons should be placed in four of the Servian fortresses, 
that Servia should pay an indemnity, and that the Porte 
should be allowed to construct and work a railroad through 
Servian territory. The powers refused to allow these terms 
to be discussed. Great Britain now proposed as a basis of 
negotiation that Bosnia and Bulgaria should be given local 
self-government without being freed from their dependence 
upon the Porte. Prince Milan refused to accept this proposal, 
and the war was resumed. The Turkish armies now pre- 
pared to invade the territory of Servia, but were checked by 
the interposition of Russia. 

Up to this time the action of the Russian Government had 
been entirely conservative, being confined to its participation 
in the preparation of the diplomatic notes addressed to 
Turkey. Now large numbers of Russian officers and soldiers 
entered the Servian Army with the consent and approval of 
the Czar. They enabled the Servians to hold out against the 
Turks until the 31st of October, when the fortified city of 
Alexinatz was captured by the latter. This success placed 
Servia practically at the mercy of Turkey. 



500 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 

In the meantime orders had been sent to the Russian 
Ambassador at London to inform the British Government 
that it was the opinion of the Czar that force should be used to 
stop the war and put an end to Turkish misrule. Lord Derby 
stated that England was prepared to unite with Russia in 
bringing about an armistice of not less than a month, but 
would not support an armed intervention in Turkish affairs. 
At this juncture Turkey, to the surprise of all the Powers, 
suddenly offered an armistice for six months, and announced 
a scheme of reform for the whole empire. England, Austria 
and France favored the armistice, but Russia declared that 
she could not ask Servia to accept so long a truce, since the 
principality could not keep its army on a war footing for so 
long a time ; and this view of the case was supported by Italy. 

Russia demanded a truce of four or six weeks. The Turk- 
ish forces were pressing the siege of Alexinatz with energy, 
and it was apparent that that place could not hold out much 
longer. General Ignatieff, the Russian ambassador at Con- 
stantinople, was therefore ordered to demand of the Porte an 
acceptance within forty-eight hours of the armistice proposed 
by Russia. The demand was made on the 31st of October, 
and on the same day Alexinatz was captured by the Turks. 
The Russian demand was granted by the Porte, and the 
armistice was proclaimed. 

Although determined to support Servia against Turkey, 
Russia was anxious to maintain friendly relations with the 
other European powers. On the 2nd of November Lord 
Adolphus Loftus, the English ambassador, had an interview 
with the Czar at Livadia. The Czar " pledged his sacred 
word and honor " that he had no intention of acquiring Con- 
stantinople, and that if necessity compelled him to occupy a 
portion of Bulgaria it would only be provisionally, and until 
the safety of the Christian population was assured. These 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 501 

assurances gave great satisfaction to the English Government, 
which now assumed the initiative in proposing a general con- 
ference of the representatives of the great Powers of Europe 
to meet at Constantinople. 

On the 4th of November the :\Iarquis of Salisbury was 
appointed the English representative. The proposal was 
accepted, but all the powers did not send special representa- 
tives. Germany, Russia and Italy considered their ambassa- 
dors at Constantinople sufficient; but Austria and France 
followed the example of England, and sent special representa- 
tives to assist their resident ambassadors. 

Sigmflcant Threats. 
Before the conference assembled the Earl of Beaconsfield 
(Disraeli), the English premier, delivered a speech sharply 
criticising the Russian attitude, and closed it with significant 
words : '' While the policy of England is peace, no country is 
so well prepared for war." The next day, November 9th, the 
Czar, in an address to the nobles and communal council of 
Moscow, said : " I hope this conference will bring peace ; 
should this, however, not be achieved, and should I see that 
we cannot attain such guarantees as are necessary for carrying 
out what we have a right to demand of the Porte, I am firmly 
determined to act independently." These words were gen- 
erally regarded as a reply to Lord Beaconsfield's threat, and 
caused considerable excitement in Europe, as they implied a 
possibility of war between Russia and England. 
'' Lord Salisbury reached Constantinople on the 5th of 
December. On his journey from London he had visited 
Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Rome, and had ascertained the 
views of those governments with respect to the Eastern ques- 
tion. Immediately upon reaching Constantinople he entered 
into communication with the Porte and with the foreign 



•502 Turkey and tJie MoJuunmedaii Power. 

ambassadors and representatives. He was encouraged by this 
intercourse to believ^e that the conference would result in 
a satisfe-ctor}' settlement of the troubles. Turkey seemed 
willing to accept a fair proposition of settlement, and tlie Rus- 
sian ambassador was especially cordial in co-operating with 
Lord Sahsbur}'. 

ResTiltB of the Conference. 

'* On December nth the representatives of the six great 
powers of Europe met in a salon of the palace of the Russian 
embassy' for a preliminary- consultation, and on the following 
day the preHminar}- conference was formally opened with the 
exclusion of the Turkish representatives. The preliaiinar}* 
conference came to an end on December 21st, and General 
Ignatieff. in informing the Porte of the fact, invited it to send 
its representatives to the definite conference, which was to 
begin its sessions on December 23d. The result of the pre- 
Hminar}' conference had been that the powers had agreed to 
restore the status quo in Senaa and Montenegro ; but, to pre- 
vent needless quarrels in future. Lesser Zvomik was to be 
annexed to Ser\4a. Montenegro was also to receive an addi- 
tion to its territory' by the comers of Herzegovina protruding 
into Montenegro at Trebigne and Xicsic, and a strip of land 
connecting it with the coast, with a port 

"A detailed plan had also been proposed to secure the poli- 
tical autonomy of Bulgaria, which was, however, so disadvan- 
tageous to the Porte that the latter considered itself forced to 
reject the proposition. A weak point of the conference 
appeared, even before the preliminary conference had met. 
This Ti-as that it intended to consider the condition of the 
Sla\'ic Christians only, while the other Christians and the 
Jews were not taken into consideration at all. This fact 
aroused great commotion among the Greek subjects of Tur- 



Turkey and the Moham'mcdan Pcwcr. 508 



key. They "- eri 
two vilaye: j 
western ^ ! r : 
belonc^^ " 


: -L LTTiculaiiy o c ;, : : 
:— 5 prop»>^: 




-•. - ... - — .. 




~ 


took place : : r 
Midhat Pasna 
this aj^wintmer: 
afi^urs iDto her ( 
dictatioii of the 


: : _ ty. 

own ha-ii ir i 
Euro't^ 



fatkm c^ the 
TT-^ice, the 



.Til 



On the 22ci : : Z 7 : 7 : t: 
er. The true "?: ^ :f 
had resohre'i :: : :t ^-: 
-se to submit to the 
±e 23d the PcKte 
proclaimed the newccMii: : _ : r _ .ish enqnre whicji 

had zfr;. ; r; = rtd by Midhat Pasha. This constitntkm 
en: re/ ized the Turkic government. It proricled 

fori : ^ T : 7 T:t:d bv the oeof^e, and made die Soltan 
acrr.f:: :? litrary sovoidgiL 

T 7 r 7 : 7 ioiinistEred by mimslns 

respoiii.^^.e : 7 : : zy- ^^.^ to enact tihe laws 

necessar\" :"; :.7 ::-:.:: 1 ^: e :ii,:ent of the e mp ii e. 

^ The sobjects of the empire are called, without distinctiofi, 
Ottomans. Individual liberty is inviolable, and is guaranteed 
by the laws. Islamism is tiie relig^ori cf ti:r State, but the 
free exercise of all reco^r lei rreri :rei i-i : le 

religions privileges of :: 7 ::- 7 71 No 

provision investing the _:ii:_:_i^ 7 fi^ie .l^ ^theo- 

cratic character exists in the c: :.: : The coostitatiiMi 

establishes liborty of the press 7 : eriticm to both 

Chambers for all Ottoman? "7 ::- and die 

equality of all Ottomans : 7 7 7 7 - 3V>y the 

same rights and have the 5-7 : 7 5 : 7 : .itry. 

Ottoman subjects, without c 5 : :: : ; : .e ^ ^7 ~zt 

to the service of the state. 



604 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 

Taxation will be equally distributed; property is guaran- 
teed, and the domicile is declared inviolable. No person can 
be taken from the jurisdiction of his natural judges. Public 
functionaries will be appointed in conformity with the condi- 
tions fixed by law, and cannot be dismissed without legal and 
sufficient cause. They are not discharged from responsibility 
by any orders contrary to law which they may receive from a 
superior. Judges are irremovable. The sittings of the tribu- 
nals are public. The advocates appearing for defendants are 
free. Sentences may be published. No interference can be 
permitted in the administration of justice. The jurisdiction of 
the tribunals will be exactly defined. Any exceptional tribu- 
nals or commissions are prohibited. 

The Proposed Enactments. 

No tax can be established or levied except by virtue of a 
law. The budget will be voted at the commencement of each 
session, and for a period of one year only. The final settlement 
of the budget for the preceding year will be submitted to the 
chamber of deputies in the form of a bill. The provincial ad- 
ministration is based upon the broadest system of decentrali- 
zation. The councils general, which are elective, will deli- 
berate upon and control the affairs of the province. 

Every canton will have a council, elected by each of the 
different communities, for the management of its own affairs. 
The communes will be administered by elective municipal 
councils. Primary education is obligatory. The interpreta- 
tion of the laws belongs, according to their nature, to the court 
of cassation, the council of state, and the senate. The consti- 
tution can only be modified on the initiation of the ministry, 
or of either of the two chambers, and b}^ a vote of both cham- 
bers, passed by a majority of two- thirds. Such modification 
must also be sanctioned by the Sultan. 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 505 

The conference met on the 23d of December, the very day 
of the promulgation of the constitution. On the 28th of De- 
cember it was resolved to extend the armistice to March i, 
1877. The proclamation of the constitution seemed to cut 
the entire ground from under the feet of the conference. The 
representative of the Porte maintained that further deliberation 
was unnecessary, since the constitution was a sufficient answer 
to the powers. Nevertheless the sessions were continued, but 
without accomplishing anything. The conference demanded 
that the reforms in the Turkish empire should be executed by 
an international commission, having at its command a special 
military force, composed partly of Europeans and paitly of 
Turks, but Turkey refused to accept the demand, and it was 
abandoned. 

No Guarantee from Turkey. 

Though Turkey was willing to pledge herself for the execu- 
tion of the reforms, she steadily refused every material guar- 
antee for the execution of this pledge suggested to her. The 
conference then reduced its demands to insisting that the 
Governors of Bosnia and Bulgaria should be appointed with 
the consent of the powers, and that the powers should be 
allowed to form an international commission, which should, 
however, have no military means of executing its decrees. 
On the 1 8th of January, 1877, the Porte firmly rejected these 
demands, and the conference came to an inglorious end. 

During the sessions of the conference Roumania became 
alarmed at the terms of the constitution, the first article of 
which declared that the Ottoman empire, including the privi- 
leged provinces, forms an indivisible unity from which no 
portion can ever, on any ground, be detached, while the 
seventh article gives to the Sultan the right of investiture of 
the rulers of the privileged provinces. On the 5th of January, 
1 877, the Roumanian senate passed a resolution declaring that 



506 Turkey and the MohaTnmedan Power, 

the rights of the principality should remain intact, and calling 
upon the government to maintain them in a manner worthy 
of the state. 

The excitement in Roumania was so great that in a few 
days the Porte officially declared that the constitution was 
purely internal, and did not affect the rights of a principality 
which were guaranteed by international treaties. 

Demands of the Powers Refused. 

The obstinacy of Turkey in refusing the demands of the 
Powers lost her the few friends she had left in Europe. The 
cause of this obstinacy was the Vizier Midhat Pasha, who, 
losing sight of the fact that the Turkish empire owed its 
existence in Europe entirely to the mutual jealousy of the 
great Powers, haughtily refused to allow any interference with 
its affairs. 

His imperious will soon rendered him obnoxious to the 
Sultan, who grew restless under the control of the man who 
had already deposed two sultans within a year, and who 
would not hesitate to depose another should it suit his pur- 
poses. Accordingly, on the 5th of Februar}', 1877, Midhat 
Pasha was removed from his office of vizier and ordered to 
quit Constantinople. He was succeeded by Edhem Pasha, 
who had served as one of the members of the conference, 
and who had distinguished himself by his bitter opposition to 
all the proposals of the foreign representatives. 

Edhem Pasha at once devoted himself to the task of mak- 
ing peace with the rebellious principalities. He opened 
negotiations with Servia, and by the last of February con- 
cluded a treaty of peace with that principality. By the terms 
of the treaty the Servians were to retain their fortresses, 
were to salute the Turkish flag, and were to prevent armed 
bands from crossing the frontier. The Turkish troops, on 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 507 

their part, were to evacuate the positions held on Servian 
territory. The treaty was ratified on the 3d of March, and a 
week later the Turkish forces withdrew from Servia, re- 
linquishing Alexinatz and Saitchar to the Servians. 

Negotiations had been opened with Montenegro at the 
same time that those with Servia were begun, but they proved 
more protracted and troublesome. Prince Nicholas at first 
demanded that the negotiations should be conducted at 
Vienna, but the Porte refused this, and the prince sent a dele- 
gation to Constantinople. The armistice was extended to the 
13th of April. The Montenegrin demands were, briefly, the 
cession of Nicsics, which had been besieged by their forces 
for several months, the cession of a seaport, and such a rectifi- 
cation of their frontier as would increase their territory about 
one-half its present extent. 

Resort to Diplomacy. 

As the Montenegrins held actual possession of most of the 
territory demanded by them, they had the advantage of the 
Porte. The latter refused to grant any extension of territory, 
and towards the close of March, Prince Nicholas instructed 
his representatives to abate their demands somewhat, but to 
insist upon the cession of Nicsics. On the loth of April the 
Turkish parliament, to which the matter was referred, rejected 
the demands of Montenegro, and the next day the representa- 
tives of that principality were informed of this decision, and 
were told that the armistice would not be renewed. Two 
days later the Montenegrin delegates set out for home, going 
by way of Odessa, in order to have an interview with the 
Czar and the Russian commander. 

Russia had by this time fully determined to take part in the 
war, but being as yet unprepared, endeavored by skillful diplo- 
macy to gain time. On the 31st of January Prince Gortscha- 



508 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 

koff addressed to the Russian representatives at the courts of 
the Powers concerned in the treaty of Paris a circular, in 
which he related the diplomatic efforts that had been made to 
secure the pacification of Turkey, and stated that the Czar, 
before determining upon a course for the future, wished to know 
what course would be determined upon by the other Powers. 
On the 9th of March Turkey met this circular by one of 
her own addressed to the guaranteeing Powers, stating that 
" the reforms proposed by the conference and accepted by the 
imperial government are already being applied." On the 19th 
of March the Turkish parliament was formally opened with 
imposing ceremonies and renewed promises of reform. The 
great Powers, however, were suspicious of Turkey's promises, 
and were determined to demand further guarantees. Accord- 
ingly the Russian, French, German, Austrian and Italian 
ambassadors at London held several conferences with Lord 
Derby, the British foreign minister, the result of which was 
the signing, on the 31st of March, of a protocol by them, in 
behalf of their respective governments. 

In the Interest of Peace. 

This document declared that " the powers propose to watch 
carefully, by means of their representatives at Constantinople 
and their local agents, the manner in which the promises of 
the Ottoman government are carried into effect ; " and in case 
these promises were not faithfully carried out, the powers 
, reserved the right of common action "to secure the well- 
being of the Christian population and the interests of the 
general peace." Before signing this document Count 
Schouvaloff, the Russian ambassador, made a declaration to 
the effect that if the Porte showed itself ready to disarm, it 
should send a special envoy to St. Petersburg to treat for a 
mutual disarmament. 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 509 

Lord Derby, on behalf of Great Britain, declared that if a 
reciprocal disarmament and peace did not result, the protocol 
was to be regarded as null and void. The answer of the 
Porte to the protocol was a defiant circular addressed to its 
representatives abroad, in which, while it did not entirely 
reject the protocol, it warmly resented the threat of foreign 
intervention in the internal affairs of Turkey, repelled Count 
Schouvaloff 's suggestion of intervention, and declined to send 
a special envoy to St. Petersburg. The circular was dated the 
loth of April. When the Turkish ambassador in London 
dehvered this circular to Lord Derby on the I2th of April, 
the British foreign minister expressed to him his deep regret 
at the course Turkey had seen fit to pursue, and said he could 
not see what further steps England could take to avert the 
war, which now seemed inevitable. 

Every effort for peace having failed through the obstinacy 
of the Porte, Russia declared war against Turkey on the 24th 
of April, 1877. The history of this war is given in Book 
XXV. 

Beginning of the Campaign. 

Both in Armenia and Bulgaria the opening of the campaign 
was favorable to Russian arms, but later the Turks rallied 
and seriously checked the triumphant progress of the invad- 
ers. Even after the Russian forces had been greatly aug- 
mented the Turks resisted energetically. Kars, besieged for 
several months, resisted till the middle of November ; Erze- 
roum did not surrender until after the armistice had been con- 
cluded. 

Osman Pasha, who established himself in Plevna early in 
July, repelled with brilliant success repeated and determined 
assaults from a besieging army of Russians and Roumanians ; 
and he had so strengthened the fortifications as to be able to 
hold out until the loth of December, when he surrendered. 



510 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power, 



Desperate fighting in the Shipka Pass had failed to expel 
the Russians from their position in the Balkans ; but within a 
month of the fall of Plevna the Russians captured the whole 
Turkish army that was guarding the Shipka Pass, and then 
easily overran Roumelia. The victorious Muscovites occu- 
pied Adrianople in January, 1878; on the last day of that 
month an armistice was concluded ; and in March the " pre- 
liminary treaty " of San Stefano was signed. 

After grave diplomatic difficulties, owing chiefly to the 
apparent incompatibility of English and Russian interests, a 
Congress of the Powers met at Berlin, and sanctioned the 
cessions and other territorial changes which, with modifica- 
tions, were carried out between 1878 and 1881. 

A Fleet in Turkish Waters. 

The Russians evacuated Turkey in July and August, 1879. 
In the following October, a new ministry was formed under 
Said Pasha, and very soon a pressure for reforms was put 
upon the government by the British, which was signalized by 
Admiral Hornby and the fleet entering Turkish waters. A 
period of great financial depression followed. 

A note of Savas Pasha to the Powers acknowledged cor- 
ruptions in judicial affairs and promised efficient reforms. 
Early in 1880 an incident occurred which attracted wide 
attention. Colonel and Mrs. Synge, distributors of relief to 
needy Mussulmans, were captured by Greek brigands near 
Salonica, nor was it possible to secure their release except by 
a bonus of ;^50,ooo. A collective note of the Berlin Confer- 
ence was presented in July of this year, and soon after another 
was sent urging certain cessions of territory to Montenegro 
and proposing to aid the Prince in taking possession. 

A final note from the Powers, respecting the cession, was 
delivered in September, and Admiral Beauchamp Seymour, 



^ 



Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 611 

commander of the combined fleet at Ragusa, was sent to 
make a demonstration near Dulsigno, which had been 
included in the cession recommended, but the Sultan refused 
to surrender Dulsigno and the French declined to participate in 
an attack on the town. Subsequently the Sultan consented to 
the cession, which was effected in November, and the combined 
fleet dispersed. At this time the Greeks were arming and a 
note respecting this demonstration was sent to the Powers, 
which answered with a circular recommending arbitration. 

This was declined by both Turkey and Greece, in January, 
1 88 1, but was followed by a proposition from Turkey for a 
conference at Constantinople. This conference was held in 
March^ and resulted in an agreement between Turkey and 
the Powers. The proposals were referred to Athens. In July 
the Turco-Greek Convention ceding Thessaly to Greece was 
signed at Constantinople. 

In December, 1882, the Sultan was in great alarm through 
dread of assassination, and without doubt there was good 
foundation for his fear. It appeared evident that enmity on 
the part of some of his trusted advisers was about to culmin- 
ate in an attempt upon his life. Early in 1883 a fight 
occurred among his bodyguards, composed of Alvanians and 
negroes, and about thirty were killed or wounded. 

Difficulties occurred with the Greek Church respecting 
political reforms, resulting in the resignation of the Ecumeni- 
cal Patriarch, Yoacham II., which was not accepted. Con- 
ciliation was proposed, but the resignation was maintained. 
However, an amicable settlement of the dispute was announced 
in April, 1884. During this month the Imperial Prince and 
Princess of Austria were hospitably entertained by the Sultan. 
About this time occurred the death of Midhat Pasha, the 
great statesman and reformer in exile, aged 62. 

In August a circular was sent to the six great Powers 



512 Turkey and the Mohammedan Power. 

announcing the stoppage of the post-offices in Constanti- 
nople. 

This was resisted, and the Turkish scheme, having failed, 
was withdrawn. Soon after petitions to the Sultan were sent 
from Massadonia respecting Turkish atrocities, which, it was 
fe)t could be no longer endured. Commercial relations were 
continued and encouraged with England, and a new tariff was 
signed in July, 1885. 

During this year a revolution occurred in Roumania, and a 
Turkish note was addressed to the Powers. Said Pasha, 
Grand Vizier, and other ministers were dismissed, and 
Kaimil Pasha came into power. A conference of ambas- 
sadors was held in October and presented a note condemning 
the revolution in Roumelia, as breaking the treaty of BerHn. 
Turkey asked the assistance of the Powers to settle the Rou- 
melian affair. 

In March, 1886, the Sultan ratified the treaty between Bul- 
garia and Servia. As an indication of the lawless condition 
of many parts of the Turkish empire, four English gentlemen 
were captured near Smyrna by brigands, who demanded a 
ransom of ;^ 15,000, but who released their prisoners upon the 
payment of a fourth part of that sum. 

Direct railway communication was established in 1888, 
between London and Constantinople, via Dover and Calais, 
in 94 hours, thus bringing these two points nearer together 
than ever before. 



I 



